Lawyer Suicide Rate & Lawyers’ Mental Health Statistics: Uncovering the Hidden Truth

Often swept under the rug as an “occupational hazard,” the prevalence of mental health issues within the legal profession is anything but negligible. Lawyer suicide rate statistics reveal an alarming trend that demands a more transparent and honest evaluation to be addressed effectively.

Legal professionals face mental health challenges at rates that significantly exceed those of the general population. These issues are often hidden away due to professional stigmas and career concerns. Meanwhile, the nature of the work itself and the unwillingness to seek support compound the underlying issues.

Key Points

• Lawyers experience mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation at significantly higher rates than the general population.
• Career pressures, trauma, isolation, long work hours, and other factors combine to increase these risks.
• Individual and group therapy approaches tailored to lawyers can significantly improve these concerns.

Lawyers’ Mental Health Statistics by Condition

Lawyers are tasked with making high-stakes decisions that can dramatically affect the welfare of others and their own careers. This immense responsibility and the stress that comes with it create the perfect storm of mental health stressors.

Pressure to maintain billable hours dominates the daily lives of many lawyers, some of whom work 60-80 hours a week to meet demanding quotas. Sleep deprivation becomes normalized. Work-life balance becomes an intangible fantasy.

Constant conflict and competition, whether with opposing counsel or colleagues, are major stressors for lawyers. Balancing an aggressive courtroom approach with preserving professional relationships creates a level of psychological strain that wears on lawyers over time.

Financial stress can be highly burdensome. Law school debt averages over $160,000 nationally. Weighing the risks and absorbing the cost of starting your own practice while this debt hangs over your head is a major source of stress.

The perfectionist mentality is highly prevalent among lawyers. Lawyers are trained to avoid making even the slightest errors and to win cases at all costs. Small mistakes can devastate careers, creating a breeding ground for chronic stress.

It’s unsurprising, given these severe stressors and others that lawyers are confronted with, that this profession is among the highest when it comes to the prevalence of mental health problems.

Depression, Suicide, and Substance Abuse Among Legal Professionals

Depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide rates are all disproportionately represented among members of the legal profession. As with the general population, these issues overlap heavily with each other.

Depression Among Legal Professionals

A landmark study conducted in 2016 revealed shocking insights about attorney depression rates (among other illnesses) of American attorneys. Per the Journal of Addiction Medicine finding, 28% of licensed, employed lawyers from the 12,825-participant sample suffered from clinical depression.[1]

Another study of roughly 12,000 participants from Washington State found that the rate of depression among this group (19%) was two to five times more prevalent than that of the general population (3% to 9% estimate).[2]

Depression symptoms are thought to begin in law school for most lawyers, progressing throughout the course of the program. Gender and the participant’s career path (for example, level of seniority at a firm) both affected the duration and intensity of depression symptoms.[3]

For example, men had significantly higher levels of depression, while women had significantly higher levels of anxiety.[4] Overall stress scores decreased as time in the field increased.

Lawyer Suicide Rates in the Legal Profession

A striking 11.5% of lawyers have reported suicidal thoughts at some point in their career.[4] This is more than double that of the US population aged over 18, which has a suicide contemplation rate of 4.2%.[5]

This increase is biased along the gender divide, as men are disproportionately more likely to die by suicide despite women having higher levels of suicidal ideation.[6]

Finally, social isolation is also a strong predictor of suicidal ideation. Lawyers who experience high levels of loneliness are almost three times as likely to contemplate suicide.[7]

Substance Abuse and Addiction

A 2014 American Bar Association (ABA) survey administered to fifteen law schools around the country reported the following:[8]

• Over half of the respondents reported getting drunk at least once in the past 30 days.
• 43% of respondents reported binge drinking within the past two weeks
• 22% of respondents reported binge drinking two or more times in the past two weeks
• Over 14% of respondents reported using a prescription drug without a prescription in the past 12 months
• 17% of respondents screened positive for depression
• 23% of respondents screened positive for mild to moderate anxiety
• 14% of respondents screened positive for severe anxiety
• Of the 21% who have been officially diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, a third were diagnosed during law school

Among the 12,000 participants of the Journal of Addiction Medicine study mentioned above, 27.6% percent reported that problematic use of alcohol was occurring before they entered law school.[9]

The rest of the selection reported alcohol problems as having started during law school (14.2%), within 15 years of completing law school (43.7%), or more than 15 years after completing law school (14.6%).[10]

Why do lawyers drink so much? Clearly, the problem can begin as early as law school, and is exacerbated by isolation, pressure, burnout due to long hours of work and study, and the need to outperform peers constantly.

Common Mental Health Treatment Approaches for Lawyers

Mental health treatment approaches for lawyers require a specialized understanding of the professional pressures they face. Depending on individual factors, several well-established therapy frameworks may be used to address this unique set of challenges.

Individual Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps lawyers to identify and amend destructive thought patterns. This approach teaches healthy coping strategies for managing perfectionism, anxiety, depression, and high-stress situations.

Trauma-focused therapy benefits lawyers who have been exposed to trauma involving their clients. Legal specialties more commonly associated with traumatic experiences include family law, criminal defense, and personal injury. Attorneys in these worlds often develop secondary trauma from client cases, for which a trauma-informed approach is best.

Substance Abuse Treatment

Medical detoxification provides a safe and confidential environment in which patients with more severe dependencies can manage withdrawal symptoms. Professional medical oversight helps to reduce the chances of dangerous complications.

Residential treatment programs provide a more intensive approach while still maintaining complete confidentiality. Some facilities even specialize in treating legal professionals.

Outpatient programs may be more appropriate for lawyers who are well enough to practice while receiving treatment. These more flexible options can accommodate the demanding schedules of legal professionals without adding undue stress.

Support Groups and Peer Networks

Every state has a Lawyers’ Assistance Program (LAP). These completely confidential programs provide counseling, support groups, and monitoring services catered exclusively to legal professionals.

Peer support groups connect lawyers in recovery. Organizations like International Lawyers in Alcoholics Anonymous provide a more targeted and relatable experience to help members grow more effectively in their recovery.

When mental health and/or substance use problems affect family dynamics, family therapy can help to repair this damage and forge healthier relationships between family members and the patient.

Take Action Against Mental Health and Substance Use Problems Today

If you’re a lawyer struggling with mental health or substance use problems, the first thing you should know is that you are not alone. Don’t let stigma or professional concerns sway you from making the most important investment. Professional help, peer support, and family involvement are here to help you in complete confidentiality and with a judgment-free approach.

The first step is acknowledging that the problem exists. Suppressing the issue as you continue about your busy schedule just prolongs the problem and may make it worse. On the other hand, early intervention can prevent devastating personal and professional ramifications.

Find the professional help you need today and continue your work with a renewed sense of peace, well-being, and self-assurance.