Lawyers and Substance Abuse

In addition to suffering from high levels of depression and anxiety (and maybe as a result thereof), lawyers appear to have more problems with alcoholism than do individuals in the general population. Alcohol abuse is relatively common among lawyers and is especially common among trial lawyers. A North Carolina study found that approximately 17% of lawyers stated that they drink three to five alcoholic beverages each day. Similarly, a Washington Study found that 18% of lawyers had problems with alcohol, and that this rate was almost twice as high as the rate for adults in general in the United States. The Washington Study further found that a large percentage of lawyers had an elevated likelihood of developing problems related to alcohol. In addition, the Washington study reported that 26% of lawyers had used cocaine at least once, and that this rate was more than twice the rate of the general population. The Washington Study concluded that a third of all Washington lawyers were subject to depression, excessive drinking, or the use of cocaine. According to one estimate, approximately 20% of all lawyers have a problem with substance abuse, and this figure is twice the rate of abuse for adult Americans in general. According to another estimate, a third of all lawyers in the U.S. are afflicted with depression, alcohol addiction, or drug addiction, and this percentage is two to three times as high as that of the general public. [See Walt Bachman, Law v. Life: What Lawyers Are afraid to Say about The Legal Profession at 22 (1995); Patrick J. Schiltz, 52 Vand. L. Rev. at 876-77; Amiram Elwork, Stress Management for Lawyers at 11-12; Carl Horn III, LawyerLife at 34; Steven Keeva, Transforming Practices at 5; Mary Ann Glendon, A Nation Under Lawyers at 87; Deborah Rhode, In the Interests of Justice at 8.]