The Business Case for Wellness

Study after study has found that lawyers suffer higher rates of substance use and mental health disorders than the general public. This is an area where one might expect us to beat the national average. We’re highly educated people, with access to medical care and financial resources. You might think that the good fortune of being a lawyer would lead us to comfort and happiness, and away from desperation and despair.

The data suggest the opposite, however. A study by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation found that 28% of attorneys struggle with depression, 21% are problem drinkers, and 19% suffer from anxiety—all at higher rates than experienced by other professionals and the general public. Other reputable studies corroborate these findings. That’s troubling, and it’s bad for business.

One of our goals for this bar year is to educate firm leaders on the role they can play in improving the mental health of our legal community. The altruistic reasons for that goal should be obvious, but the business case is just as compelling. The most important asset of every law firm is its people. Without well-adjusted, high-functioning lawyers and support staff, there isn’t much value in a law firm. Drunk lawyers aren’t particularly effective. An anxious or depressed lawyer is likely to function below her potential. And burnout-induced employee turnover is expensive.

There are many explanations for the attorney wellness crisis. While there is room to debate which factor is most significant, the explanation I encounter most is that lawyers are less likely than others to acknowledge that they are suffering and to seek help.

I identify with this reluctance to ask for help. My vision of a lawyer is of an unflappable professional—strong; calm under fire; the one who has the answers; the person who can lead his clients out of crisis. I still believe that these characteristics are necessary to long-term success in the profession. When our clients call upon us in times of crisis, we do need to be unflappable.

But what do we do to prepare ourselves for those highstress moments, when we have to be at our best? Building up emotional resilience takes work and self-care. Ignoring stressors doesn’t make them go away; we have to deal with them one way or another. The healthy ways involve instituting healthy habits, seeking care from mental health professionals, commitment to spiritual community, and making changes in our lives that reduce our exposure to stress and increase our resilience to it. The unhealthy ways manifest as self-medication with alcohol or other drugs, emotional outbursts, low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety.

For what it’s worth, your HBA president has sought help from a therapist, and participates regularly in a self-help program which has brought calm and clarity to parts of his life that were once filled with fear and angst. I believe those things have made me into a better person and a more highly functioning lawyer. My only regret is that I didn’t seek help sooner. And I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that one of the reasons I felt empowered to seek help was because of mentors at my firm who were candid with me about their own experiences. When I learned that some of my role models—the strong, unflappable, problemsolving giants of the profession—had to seek help to deal with their own personal turmoil, I was less ashamed to admit that I needed help myself.

I hope to spread that message to the legal community this year. In January, we hosted a wellness forum with over a dozen managing partners and benefits professionals from Houston law firms. We exchanged ideas on how to promote wellness at our firms, and how to eliminate the stigma around asking for help. It was a wonderful evening, and it felt like we took a small step towards making positive change in our legal community. I look forward to watching how those leaders carry forth this message at their firms.

What are you doing to manage stress? What is your relationship with alcohol? Are there colleagues in your workplace who would benefit from learning about your own self-care regime? Asking those questions of yourself is good for you, and it’s good for business.

By Brooksie Bon V i LL ain Boutet shipley snell Montgomery LLp