Addiction and Recovery Among Legal Professionals
For many years now, there have been specific treatment programs for substance abuse among various professions. I am including this information to all legal professionals. Whether you are an Attorney or a Paralegal so that you are informed on where to seek help if you need it. Having these occupation-specific treatment programs allows for issues that are unique to professionals in those fields to be addressed. Doctors and airline pilots are good examples of professionals with higher alcohol and substance abuse problems. They helped to pioneer these different approaches to treating alcohol and substance abuse problems while keeping in mind issues specific to an occupation. These occupation-specific programs have extremely high success rates; we are talking 80-90% of people treated stayed sober for five or more years. That is a great percentage. So why don’t attorneys and legal professionals seek help? The truth is in their license.
Attorneys are at high risk of losing their license or the very least getting suspended by the Bar. But it is a double-edged sword as well because, under influence, attorneys do the craziest shit.
I once worked with an attorney for a few months, and his office was a fuck fest. He would repeatedly go on a cocaine binge for days on end, sleep in the office or have these random spurts of energy where he would not sleep for two to three days at a time and stay all that time in the office doing “work.” I wasn’t sure what kind of work because nothing was really done, but one day he pissed me off so bad that I literally left the office after he started bragging about the news. My favorite part of the day was when it was Friday 5 pm when everyone was ready to leave for home, he would come in, and that would be the beginning of the day for him. He had no track of time whatsoever. There were many times when my 8-hour days turned into 16-hour days. As you can imagine, I could not work in such an environment.
Attorneys and other legal professionals seem to be falling into addiction at a higher rate, creating a demand for treatment programs specific to legal professionals and their struggles.
Professional psychiatrists believe that these are the factors that can lead a legal professional down the road of addiction. Whether it is the long working hours, demanding work, heavy workloads, schedule, and professional networking where alcohol is readily available and socially accepted. I personally feel that it’s none of the above. I believe that crazy and demanding clients, as well as the pressure of resolving a case without losing their license, could be the major contributing factors. Many attorneys also stress over finding new clients as well. The legal occupation has been identified as being a profession that uses alcohol and other drugs more often than any other occupation.
A considerable study conducted that surveyed professionals on drinking habits found that people in legal professions reported high rates of drinking habits that were problematic.
A survey called Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, a.k.a. AUDIT, was conducted amongst the legal community, and it found that 36.4% of participants had scores that are consistent with alcohol abuse. Just to give you an idea of how that number compares to professionals in other occupations, only 15.4% of surgeons were reported to have scores consistent with alcohol abuse. Legal professionals had a score double that.
In comparison to the general population, men in the legal profession did not really rank much higher than men in the general population for alcohol or substance abuse problems. Men in the legal profession had a rate of 33.7% of them, whereas men of the general population rated at 32%—a slight increase but not significant. On the other hand, women had a much higher rate of problematic drinking in the legal profession, with their rating being 39.5% compared to women in the general population being 19%. That is an incredibly significant increase and something to be aware of.
Legal professionals reported or showed signs of having personality disorders that all too often lead to alcohol and substance abuse problems. People in the legal profession tend to show signs of antisocial personalities (17.6%), and narcissistic personalities (11.7%) are common in the legal field and are also common personalities to develop problems with alcohol and substance abuse; according to a study done in 2008 (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory)
Heavy drinking is not a new problem, and it certainly is not a new problem in the legal profession. It is, however, a problem and one that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, there has always been a stigma and judgment attached to substance abuse regardless of profession or walk of life and regardless of which substance was being abused. This makes it difficult for people struggling to seek help. They have a valid fear of becoming an outcast or being judged harshly.
For professionals amongst the legal community, the threat to their jobs or an academic career is a huge factor in not seeking help and hiding a substance abuse problem. This is a barrier that will keep people stuck in the cycle of addiction and living a double life instead of getting the help they need. For students, the thought of not getting admitted to the Bar due to a drug and alcohol problem is a massive threat and a good reason to hide their problems rather than seek help. It is common for any networking event to involve alcohol. Since alcohol is socially acceptable and enjoyed by most people, you will be hard-pressed to find a networking event that does not include alcohol. This can be a considerable hurdle for legal professionals who need to network as part of their career to increase social capital to achieve a good reputation with colleagues and clients alike, which will lead to an increase in earnings.
Networking is another barrier for a legal professional to deal with when it comes to alcohol and drug addiction.
As of 2014, there have been developments of specialized programs for legal professionals struggling with addiction. The Lawyer Assistance Programs, a.k.a. LAP, have formed in most states throughout the USA and specialize in treating legal professionals and the occupation-specific barriers that come with being a legal professional. These LAP programs seek to reduce the barriers between people wanting treatment and to reduce the fear of repercussions from the legal community. The LAP programs ensure the confidentiality and safety of its participants. The LAP programs are run by lawyers and judges, making it easier for people seeking help to relate to them and ensuring the programs are run with understanding and empathy. The providers also understand how important confidentiality is to a legal professional.
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation has been offering specialized programs for legal professionals since 2011. These programs are run by people who have experience as clinical practitioners and as legal professionals. These programs were designed to address people’s specific and unique needs in the legal community, such as lawyers, judges, legal assistants, and other legal professionals.
With the providers that run these programs, having first-hand knowledge of the struggles and barriers in the legal occupation helps them to engage with patients on a more personal level and offer specialized plans when designing a treatment plan. The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation also offers group sessions, as well as individual sessions that are held off-campus for legal students who find themselves struggling with alcohol and drug abuse. These programs help break down barriers and fears specific to legal students that prevent them from seeking the help they need.
If you are a legal professional and find yourself with an alcohol or substance abuse problem, you may feel that seeking help will ruin your career and reputation; the LAP programs are designed to be confidential and protect you from any professional lash back for seeking treatment. These programs are also realistic and run by professionals who understand the implications of your profession on living a healthy lifestyle and help you to design a strategy that works for you. Surrounding yourself with people who understand your situation from the first-hand experience and provide a safe space for you and others who are in the same position as you will drastically help you in your road to recovery.
Suppose you work with legal professionals that are experiencing alcohol and drug addiction. It is crucial to consider the unique problems and barriers these individuals face in the legal community. Reaching out to occupation-specific recovery programs, like those offered at The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Legal Professionals Program or The Other Bar—an anonymous non-profit peer support group specifically for people in the legal profession. It is an excellent place to start to help someone get onto the road of recovery. Keep in mind that offering confidentiality and support to the person with the alcohol and substance abuse problem will be appreciated and a significant factor in recovery.