This month’s edition of the Texas Law Journal contains a quiz entitled Lawyer Wellness, by the Numbers.
Readers, who are mostly lawyers, are tested on the current state of mental health in the legal profession. The answers show the prevalence and severity of psychological troubles endured by attorneys across the country.
“Burnout” is the most common issue for the majority of lawyers. A 2023 survey conducted on Massachusetts lawyers found that 77% of lawyers in the Bay State suffer from burnout. Similarly, a 2021 Bloomberg Law survey disclosed that 52% of attorneys practicing in the U.S. recorded professional burnout.
The Bloomberg survey also found that 67% lawyers suffer from “anxiety and another 35% deal with “depression.”
Unsurprisingly, many of these attorneys turn to alcohol to help them cope with their struggles.
The Massachusetts’ study, cited above, showed that 42% of respondents admitted to consuming unhealthy amounts of alcohol on a regular basis. Another study, commissioned by the American Bar Association, found that 20.6% of respondents acknowledged “problematic alcohol use.”
(For more on the topic, see my post: Attorneys and Alcohol: Study Shows 1 in 3 Lawyers Have a Drinking Problem.)
These problems are also rife in American law schools. The numbers cited in the Texas Law Journal quiz show that 70% of law students report some type of “emotional or health problems.” Additionally, 40% suffer symptoms of anxiety and 33% experience bouts of depression.