Wellness Programs Are Not Making Progress on Substance Abuse. What Could?

Substance misuse among lawyers is an open secret. Attorneys have written books about it, and media outlets cover how substance misuse affects lawyers’ ability to do their jobs.

But while raising the visibility of this problem is an important first step, simply talking about the issue isn’t enough. Legal professionals are openly sharing their battles with addiction and mental health, yet more lawyers than ever are struggling with substances, particularly alcohol misuse.

Law firms are trying to help lawyers address these challenges, but as Law360 recently highlighted, their approaches have been largely ineffective. Below is a look at what’s working and what’s not.

How the legal profession enables addiction

Law firm culture may be the root of the legal profession’s ongoing substance misuse problems. The constant stress lawyers face — long hours, unmanageable workloads and demanding clients — can lead to anxiety and depression, which, in turn, can lead to an unhealthy reliance on drugs and alcohol.

A study conducted in the early stages of the pandemic by Patrick Krill of Krill Strategies, who consults with firms on education and programs around mental health and substance misuse, showed that more than half of lawyers in California and Washington, D.C., were engaging in risky drinking, and 30% were engaging in “hazardous drinking consistent with an alcohol use disorder.” Even considering that the number may have been inflated by the circumstances of the pandemic shutdowns, it’s still a staggering figure.

“Three years after the study’s publication, my observation is that our fears were well founded, and that far more law firms are experiencing problems with alcohol use among their lawyers than they were a few short years ago,” Krill told Law360.

Bringing about real change will require firms to acknowledge the factors contributing to an unhealthy environment and foster a genuine willingness to change them. To state the obvious, convincing firm leaders not to emphasize profitability or prioritize client service — factors that contribute to the pressure lawyers face — is a tough sell.

Yet the business case for addressing lawyers’ substance abuse is clear. Firms invest significant resources in hiring and training lawyers. Investing in their mental health and well-being should be considered part of firms’ ROI on talent development and retention.

Firm culture will likely shift only when firm leaders recognize the financial fallout from lawyers’ mental health crises and substance misuse. Until then, anyone currently struggling with these issues may feel like they are swimming upstream.

Addressing the gap

One promising sign: more than 230 firms have signed the ABA’s Well-Being Pledge. It emphasizes helping legal employers support a healthy and sustainable work environment, with a seven-point framework for addressing substance misuse and mental health problems.

Still, firms must address the gap between their pledges of support and the ways in which they continue to foster a toxic culture. For example, offering wellness education and resources isn’t useful if lawyers can’t take advantage of them because they’re buried in 80-hour workweeks.

Beyond the pledge, the Institute for Well-Being in Law recommends that firms take an evidence-based approach and measure the effectiveness of the initiatives they implement to support lawyers. This scientific approach can help firms better determine what’s working and invest their resources accordingly.

If you work for a firm that is successfully addressing some of these challenges, we would love to hear from you. What is your firm’s approach, and how are the programs helping to address substance misuse in your workplace culture? Let us know!

If you are struggling, Lawyer Assistance Programs provide confidential services and support to judges, lawyers and law students facing substance use challenges and mental health issues.