The American Bar Association, through its Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, has released the largest study yet of lawyer mental health, based on a survey of responses from a random sample of actively licensed lawyers drawn from twenty-eight participating jurisdictions. The survey, performed by Pittsburgh’s Krill Strategies, received responses from 39,306 lawyers of which 36,925 were deemed eligible for weighting.
The survey found that 21.6% reported moderate-or-higher symptoms for depression, 20.4% for anxiety, and 18.9% for stress while 47.5% reported high or very high burnout. A reported 41.8% admitted to hazardous levels of drinking, and 35.9% also reported high or very high levels of conflict between their professional and personal or family lives.
Patrick R. Krill, J.D., LLM., M.A., co-author of the study, stated, “The magnitude of this research provides us much greater visibility into the current state of lawyer mental health and well-being, along with reliable insights into the drivers of distress and burnout. It is obvious we face meaningful challenges and heightened risk, but the opportunities and desire for change that this study reveals appear equally robust. Especially now as the profession navigates the significant uncertainties and changes brought by the proliferation of AI, it is more important than ever for the well-being of lawyers to be a truly central priority.”
Despite elevated rates for hazardous and risky drinking, only 2.3% reported a current alcohol use disorder diagnosis. This may result from a large gap between identified risk and self-reported diagnosis, perhaps resulting from barriers to acknowledging alcohol-related problems or seeking help such as concerns about licensure, a culture that normalizes heavy drinking, and other obstacles to treatment.
Workplace environment affects the rate of burnout and depression. Lawyers in solo private practice and private firms, especially litigators, reported a greater prevalence of distress and burnout than those in in-house and judicial/academic roles. Lawyers practicing for long hours (over seventy per week) reported a dramatically higher risk of stress and burnout compared to those with a standard forty-hour week.
ABA President Barbara J. Howard commented, “This study confirms that issues surrounding lawyer well-being continue to be a concern. This research helps us not only better understand the scope of the problems, but as importantly, aids us in better formulating strategies to address these problems.”