A sobering picture

A recent article published by the American Bar Association (ABA) claims that many lawyers ultimately regret their career choice, seeing it as a “personal tragedy”.

While there are unhappy people in every profession, and lawyers are not the exception, Ho Wei Sim writes that it is sobering to look at the statistics measuring just how unhappy lawyers are. An often-cited Johns Hopkins University study of more than 100 occupations found that lawyers top the list for incidence of major depression, while the ABA reports that the rate of suicide among US lawyers is higher than among all other occupations. As many as a quarter of lawyers suffer from psychological distress, including anxiety, social alienation, isolation, and depression, while the rate of substance abuse among lawyers is double that of the US national average.

The keys to happiness

Ho Wei Sim is a banking professional support lawyer with Dillon Eustace and an accredited psychotherapist. Analysing both the research and selected cases, she writes that many mental health issues experienced by solicitors arise from a failure of expectations: simply put, the things that some lawyers think will make them happy in the profession are the opposite of what actually does lead to lawyers’ well-being. For example, data shows that mental-health issues tend to increase as the lawyer becomes more successful, in direct contrast to many other professions. Sim argues that the solution begins with the firm, and outlines the steps that it can take to foster sustainable working patterns; while lawyers can themselves take steps to address work-related mental-health issues.

• Read the full article in the July 2018 Gazette
• Find out about wellbeing supports for solicitors in Ireland

Archive and subscribe

For current and past issues of the magazine, visit the online Gazette.

To have future issues delivered to your home or office, subscribe today.