Kari Thoreson*
We hear it time and time again, especially as law students: “The legal field has high rates of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.” “Attorneys have depleted work life balance.” “Law students are struggling at alarming rates in comparison to other graduate and professional students.” It is a large issue with alarming statistics attached to it, and I am not here to “beat a dead horse,” as they say.[1] If you are reading this, odds are you are either part of the legal field, a law student, or close to the legal field in some fashion. I must assume that you have heard some statistics about the current state of the legal profession. My writing here will focus on the mental health and well-being crisis facing law students as well as some solutions I wish existed during my time in law school. Though substance abuse and alcoholism remain prevalent problems within the legal profession, I must leave those topics for another day.
The Problems
In the most recent Survey of Law Student Well-Being, around thirty-three percent of students had been diagnosed with depression in their lifetime, and around forty percent of students had been diagnosed with anxiety in their lifetime.[2] Eighty percent of the those surveyed who said they had been diagnosed with either depression or anxiety had been diagnosed before coming to law school.[3] The most alarming statistic: the number of students who had seriously thought about suicide. Eleven percent of law students surveyed had “thought seriously about suicide in the past 12 months.”[4] This statistic has increased by five percent since 2014.[5]
Why could this be? Well, much of the reason could be due to the natural isolation that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The human species thrives and depends upon human-to-human social interaction.[6] It is no wonder that depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts spiked during this time.[7] Unfortunately, all blame cannot and should not be left to COVID-19. Suicide has been prevalent in the legal profession for quite some time, so the pandemic can most certainly not account for the entire increase. In 2014, attorneys were ranked fourth in suicides by profession. Only dentists, pharmacists, and physicians ranked ahead of attorneys.[8] Studies are published what seems like every month about the attorney well-being crisis.[9]
I believe shaping the future of lawyer well-being begins with law schools. By identifying ways in which the law school culture repeatedly produces depressed, isolated, and anxious young professionals, we can attempt to create a less traumatic law school experience in the future by changing problematic, ingrained practices often found in the law school environment.
First, law students lose their sense of self in pursuit of being and thinking like a lawyer. Many students come to law school with hope and a feeling of being guided by their own internal North Star. Within a year, we have most likely collected a good amount of debt, gotten a “bad” grade, and been turned down from at least one legal job. We might feel the need to compensate or to prove ourselves. We are also taught the practice of “thinking like a lawyer,” which emphasizes the logical reasoning of a situation and severely downplays the ethical and human side of a situation.[10] In other words, we come to law school with intrinsic motivation and leave law school with extrinsic motivation.[11] What is worse is that we rarely talk about this topic.
Second, the competitive nature of law school and its grading system create a breeding ground for perfectionism and alarmingly low rates of self-care. No one wants to be doing less than the person next to them for the fear of a bad grade or worse: receiving the terrible title of “slacker.” However, there is complete neglect in understanding the variety of ways in which people learn and most importantly, the role that good self-care and self-esteem play in performing well academically (and not to mention, professionally). Lack of sleep or amount of time spent working is often touted as a badge of honor in law school.
The grading system in law school is different from its professional and graduate level school cousins. Almost everything is based on a curve and at least some of your grade is based upon your ability to write answers for a proper law school exam. A student at Hastings Law School spoke of his experience getting two entirely different grades in two different classes, even though he studied the same way for both classes.[12] Unfortunately, I think this is a very common experience. Our grades in law school are, for the most part, quite arbitrary.
Lastly, there is a general lack of feedback in law school that creates the ultimate comparison trap. Because many classes are only based on one exam at the end of the semester, our lack of feedback from professors is minimal. When we are not receiving feedback besides a letter on our transcript at the end of the semester, we turn to each other to see how we measure up. All of these factors work together to create a “self-esteem roller coaster.”[13] When we combine all of these factors with every student’s already existing mental illness, trauma, and natural life events, it is no wonder why law students are feeling depressed and isolated.
Potential Solutions
As my graduation date approaches, I am able to reflect on what I believe could have helped me tremendously during law school. These ideas stem from my own experiences and a variety of exercises I have had the privilege of working on with my therapist.
The first is creating a feedback system that concentrates on wellness and self-compassion rather than comparison and self-neglect. I have found that any one grade is an incomplete and inaccurate representation of the whole person who made that grade, and the obsession over these letters on a transcript is harmful. Instead of changing the grading system itself (which would be a difficult sell), I believe we should focus on resiliency practices before students receive their first grade. Every student should create an individual, proactive wellness plan. Law students are inundated with work, but I believe that some work on the front-end of a student’s career could really benefit their well-being. It is important to identify what you will tell yourself when you get a bad grade, have trouble landing a summer job, or do not make the moot court team before any of those things are even close to happening. It is much more difficult to come from a loving, accepting, and compassionate mind space when you are in the middle of feeling defeated and low. If we work with students proactively, it would give them a path to use instead of floundering, feeling alone, or isolating. A real, raw, and expansive wellness plan should be developed for each student and by each student during their first year in law school to combat the negative feelings when they come.
This might look like a self-plan of sorts. It should contain plans, goals, reflections, and strategies that address each of the eight dimensions of well-being.[14] No one plan will look the same and these plans will be personal and intimate. They might address how important each dimension of wellness is to the specific student, the warning signs or symptoms the student is aware of, goals that the student might have for their future, and who the student can count on for support during the next three years. Essentially, this plan needs to be full of self-reflection and self-awareness.
The second is developing a mechanism to be with our feelings in a community. Group therapy for law students could be implemented as an optional monthly or weekly meeting. Humans are meant to be in community. When something unpleasant happens to us, we can regulate our emotions through sharing our feelings with our community.[15] It helps us feel less alone. It creates a strong law school community that is built on trust, kindness, and most importantly, it places wellness and self-compassion at the forefront.
Generally, law school is difficult, and my goal is not to make it some easy, breezy endeavor. My hope is that institutions do more than just acknowledge the problem and promptly wipe their hands clean of any obligation to ensure lawyer/law student wellness. There needs to be a proactive effort to change the culture that has created our current bleak situation.
My Story
The National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being published a report in 2017 that included recommendations for all stakeholders. Within that report, the Task Force emphasized the need to facilitate, destigmatize, and encourage help-seeking behaviors surrounding mental health. They found that many things hinder legal professionals in seeking help, including: the culture’s negative attitude about mental health conditions, the fear of adverse reactions by others whose opinions are important, feeling ashamed by their mental health, and viewing help-seeking as a sign of weakness.[16] Research has shown, “[T]he most effective way to reduce stigma is through direct contact with someone who has personally experienced a relevant disorder. Ideally, this person should be a practicing lawyer or law student (depending on the audience) in order to create a personal connection that lends credibility and combats stigma.”[17]
For this reason, I would like to share my story from my three years in law school in hopes that it may make just one person experiencing something similar feel a little less alone.
I came to law school in August of 2020. Not the most ideal time, I know, but oddly enough my first semester in law school gave me a profound sense of belonging and purpose. I was meeting people who thought the way I did, and I was being challenged daily in classes. Most importantly, I was learning a lot, and for someone with a love of learning, this environment was a dream come true. However, it was not too long until my anxiety rose to new heights. I had always struggled with a little anxiety, but the cold calling mixed with a lack of confidence in the subject and imposter syndrome created an unhappy environment for myself. Additionally, law school made it difficult for me to keep up with my old friends who were not enduring the same taxing school schedule. When I did make the time to spend with my friends or family, lack of connection and guilt followed. No one talked about the difficulty of being a “layperson” after being in law school. It was late in my first semester that I began seeing an on-campus therapist.
In my second semester in law school, a lot of things changed, but most notably, all of my classes shifted from in-person to Zoom due to the pandemic. As the semester moved along, my twelve free therapy sessions provided by the school were dwindling and so was my mental health. It was during this time that I experienced my first suicidal thoughts and ideations. Thankfully, my free, on-campus therapist continued to see me past my allotted sessions free of charge until I could get in with a different therapist that she had referred me to. I will be forever grateful for her kindness.
As for that semester and even a couple after that, all I can say is that I made it through. I am proud of that now. I remember being so aloof and careless about my entire life during the spring finals of my 1L year. I could not study, I could not eat, and I had no desire to even pass my classes. All I could do was sleep. In less than a year, I went from being one of the happiest and healthiest versions of myself to a literal shell of a human being. I will be forever grateful that I decided to stay alive and keep going.
The sad part of all of this is that I know now that I was not the only one struggling, even though it felt like that at the time. It was not something that I felt like I could bring up to professors I had only seen on a screen or to other students who were landing awesome jobs and studying everyday like normal. Law school during that time was isolating in that sense.
Now, as a 3L, I can still say that I am a little nonchalant, but about things that I think all law students should be a little more nonchalant about, like grades, class rank, participation in extracurricular groups, law review or moot court, messing up a cold call in class, resumé builders, and billable hours. However, I have become increasingly concerned about taking care of myself, rest, work-life equilibrium, my passions outside of the law, my family and friends, and knowing myself and what I want in this life. The reality is that law school is a difficult and generally problematic endeavor that cannot continue functioning the way it is currently if it hopes to see the well-being of the legal profession improve. Please know that if you are struggling, you are nowhere near being alone in the struggle.
If you or someone you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (651-646-5590), National Suicide Hotline (988), Counseling Services at St. Thomas (651-962-6750), or any trusted person in your life right now. Please know you’re valuable, you’re loved, tomorrow needs you, and you’re not any of those silly things your brain sometimes tells you.
I would also like to open up my inbox to chat as that has proven to be one of the most therapeutic things on my journey through law school. I can be reached at karithoreson0@gmail.com or 507-414-7392.
* Kari Thoreson, J.D. Candidate, University of St. Thomas School of Law Class of 2023, Submissions Editor.
[1] See generally Hugo Guzman & Greg Andrews, Study Finds Attorneys’ Work-Life Balance Out of Kilter, with 42% Working on Weekends, Law.com: Corp. Couns. (Oct. 11, 2022, 6:47 AM), https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2022/10/11/study-finds-attorneys-work-life-balance-out-of-kilter-with-42-working-on-weekends/?slreturn=20230311211451; Ilana Kowarski, Consider Work-Life Balance Issues Before Law School, U.S. News & World Rep.(June 22, 2017, 9:00 AM), https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/articles/2017-06-22/assess-work-life-balance-priorities-before-law-school; Dustin Cole, Why Lawyers Really Struggle for Work-Life Balance, Att’y at Work (May 10, 2022), https://www.attorneyatwork.com/successful-firm-lawyer-work-life-balance.
[2] David Jaffe, Katherine M. Bender & Jerome Organ, “It Is Okay to not Be Okay”: The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being, 60 U. Louisville L. Rev. 441, 463–65 (2022).
[3] Jerome M. Organ, David B. Jaffe & Katherine M. Bender, The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being: More Progress Needed in Fostering Help-Seeking Among Law Students, Bar Exam’r (Summer 2022), https://thebarexaminer.ncbex.org/article/summer-2022/2021-survey-of-law-student-well-being.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] See Nirmita Panchal, Heather Saunders, Robin Rudowitz & Cynthia Cox, The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Kaiser Fam. Found. (Mar. 20, 2023), https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use.
[7] Id.
[8] See Rosa Flores & Rose Marie Arce, Why Are Lawyers Killing Themselves?, CNN (Jan. 20, 2014), https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/19/us/lawyer-suicides/index.html.
[9] Paula Davis, Stress, Loneliness, & Overcommitment Predict Lawyer Suicide Risk, Forbes (Feb. 15, 2023), https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauladavis/2023/02/15/stress-loneliness–overcommitment-predict-lawyer-suicide-risk/?sh=7801d595621e.
[10] The process of “thinking like a lawyer” emphasizes the logical and practical reasoning of the legal arguments and downplays or ignores the ethical side of the situation. See Elizabeth Mertz, Teaching Lawyers the Language of Law: Legal and Anthropological Translations, 34 J. Marshall L. Rev. 91, 95–97 (2000).
[11] Id.
[12] Will Pasley, Resisting the Psychological Effects of Law School, in NLG Radical L. Student Manual (2016), https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Resisting-the-Psychological-Effects-of-Law-School.pdf.
[13] Id.
[14] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin., Creating a Healthier Life: A Step-by-Step Guide to Wellness 3 (2016).
[15] Ben Johnson, Psychotherapy: Understanding Group Therapy, Am. Psych. Ass’n (Oct. 31, 2019), https://www.apa.org/topics/psychotherapy/group-therapy#:~:text=Joining%20a%20group%20of%20strangers,network%20and%20a%20sounding%20board.
[16] Nat’l Task Force on Law. Well-Being, Creating a Movement To Improve Well-Being in the Legal Profession 13 (Aug. 14, 2017), https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/images/abanews/ThePathToLawyerWellBeingReportRevFINAL.pdf.
[17] Id.
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