Changing social
mores in the legal profession
By Richard
Carlton
There is no evidence, anecdotally or otherwise, that the
magnitude of the challenges experienced by legal professionals with substance abuse
and mood disorders has waned in recent decades. If anything, the frequency of
depression experienced by legal professionals has increased. From my somewhat
unique perspective as the acting director of the State Bar’s Lawyer Assistance
Program, what has appeared to change in recent years are the “social mores”
with regard to acceptance of heavy drinking and related problems among legal
professionals.
Certainly the reception that I receive when I deliver
continuing education presentations on the topics of attorney substance abuse,
depression and stress has changed dramatically since I began speaking on these
topics in 1987. When I delivered a talk at a law firm during the ’80s and ’90s,
a chill would pass over the room the moment I set foot in the door, accompanied
by some nervous snickering and occasional wisecracks. I had great difficulty
making eye contact with anyone in the audience, and the question-and-answer
period generally lasted less than 60 seconds. Today, I am generally greeted
with smiles and nods of understanding. While not everyone in the room appears
to be paying rapt attention to what I have to say, interaction with the
audience, both in the form of questions and comments, is frequent.
Also, the almost institutional denial of the scope of these
problems that existed when I started in 1986 — prior to the implementation of Minimum
Continuing Legal Education requirements that every member of the bar obtain one
unit of continuing education in the detection and prevention of substance abuse
and mental illness every three years — has abated. Twenty-plus years of this
MCLE requirement appears to have resulted in a membership that is generally
more aware of the occurrence of these problems.
Knowledge of available resources to assist the bar with
these problems has increased as well, thanks in large part to MCLE
presentations, but also to the more easily accessible programmatic information
found via the internet. Today, when I ask attorneys who contact our program how
they found us, by far the most common response is the State Bar’s website. Knowing
that the web is where attorneys and bar applicants bar go to find out if they
might benefit from our services, I decided to make it easier and more
entertaining to learn about the benefits of participating in our program by
posting two short videos online. The videos feature actual participants in the
LAP program, as well an explanation of the consultation process and how to
reach us. Please check us out by going to the section about LAP on the State
Bar website and clicking on our
video link. Thanks for visiting with me.
Richard Carlton is the acting director of the State Bar’s
Lawyer Assistance Program.