LibGuides: Mental Health & Law School: The Legal Community & Mental Health

If You're Struggling, You're Not Alone

ABA Law Student Division Podcast: Law School & Depression
Hosts Fabiani Duarte and Madison Burke sit down with trial lawyer and founder of the website “Lawyers with Depression” Daniel Lukasik to discuss depression in the legal profession, including the fact that law student experience depression at up to 4 times the national rate. (April 20, 2016)
ABA Law Student Division Podcast: Substance Abuse and Mental Illness in the Legal Profession
Host Fabiani Duarte speaks with Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Legal Professionals Program Director Patrick Krill about the prevalence of substance misuse and other mental health concerns within the occupation. Patrick explains his motivation for encouraging the creation of this study, mainly a lack of relevant drug use and mental health data, and explores possible reasons as to why so little research of this kind has been done on attorneys. He wraps up the interview with some suggestions on how drinking culture can be decoupled from the legal profession and provides tips for law students on identifying if they struggle with mental illness and substance misuse and resources for those seeking help. (June 21, 2016)
ABA Law Student Division Podcast: Maintaining Mental Health at Law School
Host Caitlin Peterson talks to Alexandria Gilbert, Nick DeFiesta, and Caroline Phillips about how the topic of mental health is addressed at law school. Their conversation includes how they are collaborating with their schools to bring attention to the issue and how other schools, divisions, and firms can help get the word out. (March 19, 2018)
ABA Law Student Division Podcast: How to Survive Law School with Children
Host Ashley Baker talks to Shawnita Goosby, Crystal Taylor, and Meghan Matt about how they manage their lives as mothers in law school. They offer advice on how to create support systems that can help parents handle the stresses of law school and encourage other parents to take heart and know that it can be done! (January 18, 2019)
ABA Law Student Division Podcast: Mental Health and Well-Being: How Law Students Can Get Help and Help Others
Host Kris Butler talks to Terry Harrell and John Berry about mental health and well-being in the legal profession and law schools. Terry and John talk about how they became involved with mental health awareness in the legal community and explain the types of support available through lawyer assistance programs. They also give their insight on why substance abuse and mental health issues have historically been more prevalent in the legal community, how the ABA Working Group to Advance Well-Being is addressing this crisis, and how law students can get involved. (April 16, 2019)
ABA Law Student Division Podcast: Dealing With the Pressures of Law School
The pressures of law school are intense, leading to inordinate amounts of stress and mental health issues for law students. So how can students remain productive without losing themselves in the heavy workload? Podcast host Ashley Baker welcomes licensed professional counselor Dionne Smith to discuss strategies for law students to manage their mental health and well-being through the rigors of law school. (October 16, 2019)
ABA Law Student Division Podcast: The Law Student Roundtable: Examining Stress & Offering Hope
Following on from a recent episode where host Ashley Baker and new Law Student Division chair Johnnie Nguyen discussed the division’s upcoming mental health initiatives, Ashley now convenes a roundtable discussion to highlight the factors driving student mental health issues. This diverse group of guests offers perspectives geared toward helping fellow students manage stress and finding assistance when needed. (November 1, 2019)
Above the Law: The Addicted Lawyer
Above the Law writer Brian Cuban writes about his struggles with alcoholism and addiction, and ultimately, his recovery. He also offers insights on how other lawyers can start on their roads to recovery.
Above the Law: The Struggle
Beginning in May 2016, Above the Law began a series of stories examining the mental-health issues that students encounter during the oftentimes grueling law school experience. ATL notes that the stories are real emails from real readers.
Coming Out in the Classroom: Law Professors, Law Students and Depression
This piece from the Journal of Legal Education by Brian S. Clarke discusses the various prominent law professors that are open about their mental illnesses and the effect such candid discussion has on law students.
Helping Law Students Get the Help They Need
This 2014 study examines the rates of mental health and substance issues in law students, as well as reasons students say they don't seek assistance.
If You're in Law School, You're Probably Depressed
This article from Above the Law discusses the 102 page study from Yale Law School, which found that 70% of respondents struggled with mental health in law school.
Law Schools Tackle Mental Health (Lexis+)
This May 2016 article outlines steps law schools are taking to boost mental health and substance abuse support initiatives on campus in response to David Jaffe's 2014 survey Helping Students Get the Help They Need. (May 9, 2016)
The Lawyer, the Addict (New York Times)
This 2017 article is a hard-hitting look at the intersection of substance abuse and the legal profession. It details the overdose death of one Silicon Valley attorney, as written by his ex-wife. As he was dying, the attorney called in for a conference call.
One in 10 young lawyers worldwide 'experiencing suicidal thoughts' (The Law Society Gazette)
This article, written by Jemma Slingo for the Law Society Gazette, discusses the results of a survey by the International Bar Association on lawyer wellbeing. Initial findings suggest that over half of lawyers under 30 have experienced ‘depressed thoughts’ and 10% have had suicidal thoughts as a result of work. (April 8, 2021)

Character & Fitness

Ultimately, the character and fitness process for each state's bar is handled by that state, and states' approaches differ. Some states ask about mental health issues, while others do not. However, all of the articles below have the following themes in common:

Delaying needed treatment out of fear of the character and fitness exam will likely only hurt your health in the long-run.
Mental Illness or substance abuse issues do not automatically disqualify you to practice
- Depending on the circumstances and your state, if there is an issue with one of your answers the bar examiners may investigate further and/or hold a hearing to determine your character and fitness. Some states also may initially place someone with a history of mental illness or substance abuse on "conditional admission" to the bar. Conditional status is kept confidential and often involves working with a mentor.
Answer character and fitness questions honestly
Bar examiners are most interested in what you are doing currently, especially if you are taking active steps to address the issue.

More information can be found in the articles below:

Character and Fitness: How to Handle Substance Abuse or Mental Illness
This 2011 article from the ABA's Student Lawyer magazine discusses handling issues in law school and how to answer Character and Fitness questions.
Why Getting Professional Help During Law School Won't Prevent You From Getting A License to Practice Law
This article by David Baum, an assistant dean at the University of Michigan Law School, discusses the character and fitness examination and mental illness. Baum also discusses his work with one student who was hospitalized for suicidal thoughts during law school, and her eventual bar passage. (August 2011)
Seeking Help for Substance Abuse Before the Bar Becomes a Bar
Written by David Jaffe, head of the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, this article discusses character and fitness issues in law school and during the bar application process. (Winter 2012)
Candor Counts by David L. Hudson Jr.
This 2016 article from the ABA Journal discusses character and fitness disclosures.
Above the Law: The Struggle-- Will Past Alcoholism and DUIs Prevent You From Being Admitted to the Bar?
"I got sober during law school over four years ago and I wanted to share that, in my experience with the New York Bar, they were extremely accepting of my status as a recovering alcoholic." (September 15, 2016)
ABA Law Student Division Podcast: Mental health’s connection to the moral character and fitness application
Host Megan Zavieh speaks with Margaret Hannon, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan Law School who was also recently published regarding this very subject by the ABA for Law Students, and Katherine Silver Kelly, an associate clinical professor and director of academic support at Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, on the topic of law students avoiding treatment out of fear for how it will be perceived by the bar examiners. Other topics include how students can get the mental health treatment they need and whether students should disclose their mental health treatment during the moral character and fitness process. (August 30, 2018)
Law students, law schools lead efforts to remove mental health questions from Character & Fitness equation
Article discussing advocacy against and recent developments in the removal of mental health questions from C&F applications. (October 9, 2019)
A new look at character and fitness: Bar leaders, lawyers, others urge elimination of mental health questions
Written by Marilyn Cavicchia, this article summarizes recent developments in the push to remove mental health-related questions from various state bars, including New York. (January/February 2020)

For more about the character and fitness process, please see our libguide on Admission to the Bar:

Admission to the Bar LibGuide

The ABA Commission on Disability Rights also provides a comprehensive chart listing the character and fitness questions addressing mental health by each state.