A 1990 Johns Hopkins University study of more than 100 professions indicated that lawyers are 3.6 times as likely to be depressed as people with other jobs.  A 2016 Hazelden study found 28 percent of lawyers suffer depression and 19 percent show symptoms of anxiety. In a prior study, published in 1990, 19 percent reported depression. 

A 2015 paper “What Makes Lawyers Happy?”: “The factors most emphasized in law schools—grades, honors and potential career income—have nil to modest bearing on lawyer well-being.”

You can question the methodology of particular studies (e.g., sample size, regionality, ways questions were posed), but taken as a whole, the statistics are hard to ignore.  We will open up this tough discussion, bring some things to light, and finish with new insights, awareness, and solutions to bring back to the office (and everyday life).  Your career, your firm’s success, your family, and your life depend on it.

This presentation is led by Will Meyerhofer, a former biglaw associate and current psychotherapist, who works directly with lawyers around the unique mental health issues facing members of the legal community.  This webinar covers a range of mental health issues facing attorneys, including depression, anxiety, suicide and substance abuse.  Also includes a discussion of the ethical issues that arise around mental health in a law firm setting, as well as emerging trends in the legal workplace and their effect on lawyer's lives.

We will explore and learn about the following:

• Attorney mental health Statistics - Are they contributing to a decline in Law School Enrollment?
• Special Challenges of the Legal Profession
• The Nature of Depression & Anxiety
• Managing Depression & Anxiety
• Attorney Substance Abuse
• Ethical Hypothetical: Reporting A Colleague’s Substance Abuse
• Attorney Job Satisfaction, including Lawyer Burnout
• The Future of the Profession