The goal of the Task Force on Mental Health Awareness is to educate our colleagues about mental health challenges confronting our profession and to destigmatize those issues and concerns. The Task Force seeks to improve understanding among our colleagues about what mental health challenges and related issues of substance abuse and impairment look like, how they impact individuals and the legal system at large, and how best to respond – including by making it easier and acceptable for affected individuals to seek help without recrimination or stigmatization. Through publication and circulation of available resources, we seek to enable our colleagues to recognize when help might be needed and to provide meaningful support, making it easier for affected individuals to find the help they need.
To that end, the Task Force has collected the information gathered on this page to provide resources to Fellows. To add additional links or information, contact Task Force Chair James Brown at jabrown@liskow.com.
Lawyers Depression Project
The Lawyers Depression Project is a support group for lawyers, judges and law students who may be struggling with mental health challenges, including but not limited to depression. It is free and confidential, and is not specific to any state. Click on the link above for more information.
To visit the Institute for Well-Being in Law, click here.
In a post from Penn Carey Law School at University of Pennsylvania, titled: "Prioritizing Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace is Evolving and Driving Change in the Legal Profession" this was shared:
"In a confidential ABA survey of 13,000 lawyers, twenty-eight percent reported they had experienced a problem with depression within the past twelve months, a rate four times that found in the general population."
Read the full article here.
988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline
The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States and Canada.
Click below to view the Task Force on Mental Health Awareness webpage
Comprehensive Study on Wellness in the Legal Profession
The 2022 National Study on the Psychological Health Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada, drafted in partnership between the Université de Sherbrooke, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and the Canadian Bar Association. It is a very powerful study that Justice O’Bonsawin quotes from often when presenting about mental health in our profession.
The Hon. George R. Strathy (Ret.)
Retired Ontario Chief Justice Strathy, speaking at the 2024 Annual Meeting in Nashville, has provided the resources below for reference:
Reflections on Mental Health
The Litigator and Mental Health
Hon. John Broderick, Jr.
Changing the Conversation Around Mental Illness: It's Way Past Time
Retired Judge and Fellow of the College, John Broderick, speaks at the 2023 Spring Meeting in Key Biscayne about changing the conversation around mental illness. His impactful and personal story challenges us to change the way we think about mental illness, including how to recognize the signs and how to help.
State and Province resources listed in alphabetical order below:
Arkansas
British Columbia
Lawyer's Indemnity Fund | Health and Wellness (a division of the Law Society of British Columbia)
California
Colorado
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Illinois
Illinois Lawyers' Assistance Program (illinoislap.org)
Kentucky
Louisiana
Manitoba
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
North Carolina
North Dakota
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Oklahoma
Ontario
Pennsylvania
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
U.S. Virgin Islands
Virginia
Virginia Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (formerly
Lawyers Helping Lawyers)