Substance abuse and depression are two of the main contributors that affect an attorney’s competence to practice law. Substance abuse and depression also lead to high rates of suicide amongst lawyers. Attorneys are nearly twice as likely to have problems with drugs & alcohol and are nearly four times more likely to suffer from depression when compared to the general population. In fact, the depression rate in the legal profession is the highest amongst all professions and over 50% of all discipline cases involve an underlying substance abuse issue.
The leading cause of premature death among attorneys:
- It’s not heart attacks or car accidents.
- Suicide is the leading cause of premature death for lawyers
In this course, Richard P. Carlton discusses the connection between substance abuse, depression and your competence to practice law. The main topics discussed include the law as a high-risk profession, substance abuse & depression disorders, personality traits of attorneys, ways to cope with the stress & the mental challenges of the legal profession and managing client expectations. To access the course please click here: An Attorney’s Duty: Competence & Substance Abuse.
Further issues presented and discussed in this CLE course:
- Brain chemistry
- Depression
- Traits of pre-law students
- The effects of law school
- Lawyers as pessimists
- Thinking like a lawyer
- Resources & assistance for attorneys
- The stress response
- Negativity bias
- Fear & negativity
- Mindfulness
- The pace of life for attorneys
- Time shifting
- Mindfulness
- Hardwiring happiness
- Resources & assistance
Richard P. Carlton, MPH, is currently the Acting Director of the Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) of the State Bar of California. He has been addressing mental health and disability concerns in the legal profession for over twenty-five years and he frequently delivers continuing legal education (CLE) presentations on addressing substance abuse and managing stress to bar associations, State Bar sections and law firms throughout California. In addition to his work with the LAP program of the State Bar of California he is also a consultant to the U.S. Courts for the Ninth Circuit, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and the Idaho Judicial Branch on matters of judicial stress and wellness.
This CLE course is currently offered in the following states:
- Alaska (AK)
- Arizona (AZ)
- California (CA)
- Connecticut (CT)
- District of Columbia (DC)
- Illinois (IL)
- Maryland (MD)
- Massachusetts (MA)
- Michigan (MI)
- New Jersey (NJ)
- New York (NY)
- Pennsylvania (PA)
- South Dakota (SD)
Attorney Credits offers continuing legal education (CLE) for attorneys in Illinois and around the country. For more information about CLE in Illinois please click the following link: IL CLE.