Substance abuse and depression are two of the main contributors that affect an attorney’s competence to practice law and lead to high rates of suicide among lawyers. Attorneys are nearly twice as likely to have problems with drugs & alcohol and are nearly four times more likely to suffer from depression when compared to the general population. In fact, the depression rate in the legal profession is the highest among all professions and over 50% of all discipline cases involve an underlying substance abuse issue.
In this course, Richard P. Carlton presents an overview of the connection between substance abuse, depression and an attorney’s competence to practice law. The main topics discussed include the law as a high risk profession, substance abuse & depression disorders, personality traits of attorneys, methods to cope with the stress & the mental challenges of the legal profession and managing the expectations of clients. Further issues presented and discussed include brain chemistry, depression, traits of pre-law students & the effects of law school, lawyers as pessimists, thinking like a lawyer, resources & assistance for attorneys, the stress response, negativity bias, fear & negativity, mindfulness, the pace of life for attorneys and time shifting.
Richard P. Carlton, MPH, is the Acting Director of the Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) of the State Bar of California and has been addressing mental health and disability concerns in the legal profession for over twenty-five years. A licensed attorney in California, Jason Castillo actively participated in this course.