Page 32 - ACTL_Fall23

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ief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, gave an unflinching and
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gent plea to the College to take action to raise awareness of the serious mental health
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ues facing the trial bars of the United States and Canada. Undeniable evidence supports
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tice Broderick’s call to action:1
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t the College’s 2023 Spring Meeting in Key Biscayne, Fellow John Broderick, former
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urageous portrayal of his son’s mental health struggles and of his family’s journey toward
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derstanding, acceptance and support of their loved one. Justice Broderick made an
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A 2023 ABA survey, Report on Mental Health in the United States Legal Profession, reports significantly worsening levels of debilitating stress, anxiety and depression amongst lawyers, with 38% of respondents reporting having dealt with depression, and 31% having grappled with another serious mental health issue;
A 2023 survey of New Jersey lawyers found a “profession in crisis,” with respondents reporting much higher rates of anxiety, burnout and suicidal thoughts than in other occupations. 56% of respondents reported alcohol misuse, 23% reported depression, and 10% reported suicidal ideation. (April 13, 2023 Law 360);
Similar recent surveys in California and in D.C. reported an average of 8.5% of respondent attorneys having suicidal thoughts (id);
A recent study, It is Okay to Not Be Okay: The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well- Being, (David Jaffe; Katherine Bender & Jerome M. Organ) U. Louisville L. Rev. (2022), reports significantly increased levels of depression, suicidal thoughts, and other serious mental health problems in our law schools.
And the dire statistics go on and on.
1 Thanks to Pepperdine University Law School Senior Alanna Austin for her research assistance.
A 2016 national survey of 13,000 practicing attorneys by the Joint ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs/Betty Ford Clinic Survey of Lawyers reported that 28% of respondents struggled with depression and over 21% abused alcohol or other substances;
A 2017 study by the National Task Force Report on Lawyer Well-Being reported that more than one in six lawyers said they had contemplated suicide during their legal career;
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