Public – Page 133 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Wellness in the Legal Profession: Change is Necessary

Post author:Yamilett Lopez
Post published:October 17, 2018
Post category:Health Care Legal Education Legal Profession Public Student Contributor

Last week, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) designated and celebrated October 10th, 2018 as National Mental Health Day for Law Schools.[1] This date coincided with the World Mental Health Day.[2] The ABA’s National Mental Health Day for Law Schools serves as a vital reminder that the legal profession is not immune from mental health problems. In fact, the numbers themselves highlight just how important discussing and tackling mental health and wellness are to both law schools and the legal profession in general. Both law students and lawyers suffer in large numbers from mental illness and substance abuse. Therefore, it is important to address these concerns and to help both law students and attorneys live a life that focuses on their wellbeing.

Statistics on Attorneys

In comparison to other professions, lawyers themselves experience higher rates of mental health issues and substance abuse. Attorneys are the most frequently depressed occupational group in the United States, and they are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression in comparison to non-lawyers.[3] In a study of roughly 13,000 practicing attorneys conducted by the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, 28% of the attorneys reported experiencing depression, 23% reported experiencing stress, and 19% reported experiencing anxiety.[4] Of these participants, 21% are qualified as problem drinkers, and they “experience problematic drinking that is hazardous, harmful, or otherwise generally consistent with alcohol use disorders at a rate much higher than other populations.”[5]

This same study found that younger attorneys, rather than older attorneys, are at a greater risk for experiencing these issues.

Our Student Blogger This Month

Post author:Edward A. Fallone
Post published:October 17, 2018
Post category:Public Student Contributor Uncategorized

Our Student Blogger for the month of October is Yamilett Lopez. Yamilett is a 3L at Marquette University Law School and President of the Organization for Student Wellbeing. During her three years at Marquette Law School, Yamilett has been involved in a wide range of activities and organizations, including serving as a tour guide, being Comment Editor for the Marquette Law Review, and volunteering her time at the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic. Prior to law school, Yamilett graduated summa cum laude from Marquette University in 2017 and received a Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in marketing.

Yamilett’s first post is on the way!

More Help Urged for Those Making “Re-entry” from Incarceration

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:October 5, 2018
Post category:Criminal Law & Process Marquette Law School Poll Public Speakers at Marquette Wisconsin Criminal Law & Process

“When does the sentence end?“ Albert Holmes says he often faces that question as he works to help people who have been released from incarceration and who are re-entering the general community.

Holmes, president and CEO of My Father’s House, was one of the speakers Thursday, Oct. 4, at a conference at Marquette Law School that focused on what can be done to provide paths for more people in those situations to establish stable lives.

The conference, “Racial Inequality, Poverty, and Criminal Justice,” drew an audience that included two Wisconsin Supreme Court justices, several circuit judges, prosecutors (including Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm), defense attorneys, and many who work in agencies that try to help those getting out of prison or jail or who are advocates on issues involved with the subject.