July 1998 

 

by Mark W. Gehan

According to Ed Cleary, director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, a significant number of the cases referred to his office involve lawyers suffering from depression. Almost all of us know lawyers who are currently or formerly depressed. There probably is not a law office in Minnesota which has not felt the impact of mentally ill attorneys, whether as members of the firm, opponents who won't return phone calls, or friends who suddenly drop out of sight.

The purely selfish cost to us is the disruption of our practices. This includes malpractice risks, dissatisfied clients, unnecessary litigation, and communication breakdowns.

For clients, depressed and mentally ill lawyers provide less effective representation, increased fees, distrust of our system of justice, and, occasionally, significantly unfair results.

I do not know whether lawyers suffer depression more often than other definable groups. If they do, it may be that persons who choose to become lawyers are more susceptible in the first place, or that there is something about the nature of our profession that causes the illness. I do know that depression is an identified problem for us and that it is treatable.

In the coming year, the MSBA will consider responses to this problem. Obviously, there are many issues associated with any institutional response. How would it be funded? How would we protect the privacy of those we would hope to help? There is an obvious model for success: Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers has provided help and hope to chemically dependent lawyers over the last 20 years. Perhaps a similar program would be appropriate for victims of depression.

In the next months, I will be discussing this issue on the President's Page. We should try to take care of ourselves. If we do, we will help our families, our clients, and our profession.

The MSBA recognizes that legal work can be stressful or depressing and is providing groups that meet every other week at noon to address this. All group meetings are free and absolutely confidential. If you are interested, contact Tim Groshens at (612) 333-1183; (800) 882-6722. If you suspect you or a colleague may be suffering from depression, consider the following list of symptoms.

According to Dr. Amiram Elwork, a clinical psychologist and director of the Law-Psychology Training Program at Widener University, the symptoms of depression come in clusters. The symptoms are:

• Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood
• Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities, including sex
• Withdrawal from family and friends
• Sleep disturbances (insomnia, early morning waking, or oversleeping)
• Eating disturbances (either loss or gain of appetite and weight
• Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down"
• Thoughts of death or suicide, suicide attempts
• Restlessness, irritability
• Increased alcohol consumption (self-medication)
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
• Physical symptoms, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain that do not respond to treatment
  

 

MARK W. GEHAN of St. Paul is president of the MSBA. A partner in the firm of Collins, Buckley, Sauntry & Haugh, he received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and recently served as special master in the historic Minnesota tobacco litigation.