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Health Check
When
I was a young associate, there was a senior partner in the firm who
was winding down his active practice, but still loved to come into
the office every day. He often would pass by my office and those of
other new associates. He invariably would smile and awkwardly inquire,
“so, how’s the law biz been treating you?” “Uh, just fine, sir,” was
my normal response. Occasionally, he would ask some of us to lunch
with him — at his expense. On such days the “law biz” seemed to be
treating me pretty darn well. Based
upon my discussions with lawyers, lately the “law biz” has been unsettling
to many. Young associates in large law firms now make well over $100,000
annually, but may no longer have time for a mentoring lunch. Many
lawyers dislike the constant pressures to generate new business at
night or on weekends while still producing a high volume of quality
work all day. Economic factors recently led to the closing of a respected
downtown Minneapolis law firm. Are there others who will follow? Where
will the lawyers from such firms end up? Staff
shakeups and management issues at two major government law offices
have dramatically played out in the media headlines and been a regular
source of blogger buzz. Whatever the cause or ultimate result, as
a fellow public lawyer and agency director, I have read those stories
with dismay. It could take more than just a lunch invitation to make
many of us feel good about the current health of our profession. What
about your personal health? How’s the “law biz” been treating you
lately? Many things in life are beyond our individual control. Yet
lawyers by nature like to feel in control of all situations. That
disconnect can be extremely stressful. Stress is an undeniable aspect
of practicing law: long hours, deadlines, emergencies, client requests
or demands, marketing obligations, and striving to maintain a semblance
of a personal life can combine to take a toll on a lawyer’s physical
and mental health. Add some unsettling facts or situations into the
mix, such as a family crisis, or that a friend’s or your career has
been affected by one of the recent headline stories or by some other
event, and it may overwhelm even the most stable practitioner. Major Stress Issues Information
provided by Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL)1 indicates that lawyers
are far more likely to suffer from alcoholism, drug abuse, depression
or anxiety disorders than the population as a whole. Suicide rates
for attorneys are among the highest for any studied occupation. Some
studies indicate that law as a profession is self-selecting of individuals
prone to chemical dependency or psychological problems. If that is
so, then certainly the daily job stress that can affect even normally
healthy individuals can severely impact already afflicted or potentially
afflicted lawyers. What
can we do to deal with the stressors of practicing law? Those having
extreme difficulties coping should seek professional assistance, be
it their own physician or mental health professional or the services
of an organization such as LCL. As difficult as it may be to make
that initial contact asking for help, the price of not seeking help
is far more damaging personally and professionally. Being chemically
dependent or having mental health issues is not a basis for discipline;
but professional misconduct is, even if alcohol or depression played
a significant role in causing the misconduct. If a phone call can
save a life or just avert a disciplinary problem, it’s a call worth
making. Attorneys
who have drug, alcohol or mental health-related problems long have
been involved in public discipline matters, from criminal convictions
for drug-related offenses to misappropriation of client funds to a
pattern of neglect and lies to clients. Intuitively, we accept that
chemical or mental health problems may cause or contribute to misconduct
such as neglect. Far less clear is that chemical or mental health
problems are the cause of acts of dishonesty. Other attorneys have
received private discipline for lesser acts of misconduct, often in
the form of probation, a condition of which may be to undergo treatment
or counseling. Just as treatment is not always successful the first
time, some probationers fail, but often a career has been put back
on track without the need for public discipline. Personal Stress Issues Fortunately,
most of us deal with stress on a daily basis without excessively turning
to drugs or alcohol, or committing professional misconduct. Are there
mechanisms available to the rest of us short of an intervention to
assist in maintaining good personal and professional health? Within
your own law practice, what causes you stress? Reducing the causes
of stress is the best way to prevent it from becoming a problem. You
don’t need to be a healthcare professional to be aware generally that
regular exercise is an excellent stress reliever, as are healthy nutrition
and eating habits. Maintaining a reasonable balance between work and
family and outside activities is useful. We shouldn’t be afraid to
take an occasional vacation. You
may not be in a position yourself to control an office closing or
all staff morale problems. You can, however, control your own time
management and communication skills, both with clients or work partners,
associates and support staff. Be aware that chronic procrastination
by even one attorney in an office likely affects numerous other individuals
who have to deal with the “fallout” from the one person’s problems.
For
example, a constant stressor in litigation practice is the nature
of the adversary system itself. While some lawyers may truly enjoy
the adrenaline-based approach to resolving disputes, many more do
not and clients often find it confusing and draining. Thus the rise
in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms is not surprising. Even
among experienced litigators, few enjoy the manner in which far too
much litigation is enacted. I don’t mean zealous advocacy that can
be fair yet tough. That’s expected and what we as lawyers owe to our
clients. It’s the overly aggressive, rude, sarcastic, “in your face”
tactical approach that some lawyers employ that wears people down. The
Director’s Office receives a distressingly large number of advisory
opinion requests that essentially complain about the conduct of an
opposing counsel.2 I’ve always counseled lawyers to try their best
to not “get down in the mud” with an obstreperous opponent, since
that lawyer is no doubt better at slinging mud than you are, and is
just hoping to bring you down to their playing level. Rarely if ever
is it in your client’s best interests to engage in purposely dilatory
or obnoxious tactics. And it is even less beneficial to your own well-being.
Maintaining an even keel will prove better for your health; it might
also frustrate that difficult opposing counsel.3 All
lawyers should give their careers and lives an occasional health check.
Try to recall why you became a lawyer, or what parts of practicing
law you enjoy … or loathe? How close or far from your ideals is your
current situation? If stress is interfering with your practice or
life, take steps to remedy the problems, seeking assistance if needed.
The “law biz” may be stressful or frequently unsettling, but taking
steps to control those personal stressors that we can influence will
make a difference.
2
Advisory opinions are available from the Director’s Office by calling
and asking for the advisory opinion attorney, or by an email link
from the Office’s website: www.courts.state.mn.us/lprb.
Opinions concerning the conduct of another attorney are not available,
nor are answers to “hypothetical” inquiries. Answers to questions
concerning an attorney’s obligation to report another attorney’s misconduct
under Rule 8.3(a), MRPC, are available, and no doubt some of these
questions are in fact attempts to have our Office opine on another
lawyer’s conduct. 3
The Minnesota Supreme Court has adopted Professionalism Aspirations
for lawyer conduct. A copy can be found at: http://www2.mnbar.org/committees/professionalism/aspirations-final.htm.
The American Bar Association has very similar litigation guidelines
for lawyers’ conduct (civility standards) that include civility pledges:
www.abanet.org/litigation/conductguidelines. MARTIN COLE is director of the
Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.
An alumnus of the University of Minnesota and of the University
of Minnesota Law School, he has served the lawyer disciplinary system
for 21 years. |
