Canadian Lawyer

16 O c t O b e r 2 0 1 4 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m by PhiliP Slayton LEgaL EthiCs w illiam Styron in Darkness Visible, his extraordinary memoir, wrote, "the pain of severe depression is quite unimaginable to those who have not suffered it . . ." The sufferer, wrote Styron, "must, despite the anguish devouring his brain, present a face approximating the one that is asso- ciated with ordinary events and com- panionship. He must try to utter small talk, and be responsive to questions, and knowingly nod and frown and, God help him, even smile." Lawyers suffer from what some call "the terrible melancholy" more than any other professional group. A frequently cited 1991 Johns Hopkins study found that lawyers suffer from major depres- sive disorder at a rate 3.6-times higher than non-lawyers who share their socio- demographic traits. The search "lawyers + depression" produces 13 million hits on Google. There is even a web site lawyerswithdepression.com. The well- publicized suicide this past summer of Cheryl Hanna, a prominent law professor at the University of Vermont, reminded us of this awful problem. Hanna, who had been hospitalized for depression, left her psychiatric hospital, bought a gun, and shot herself. She was 48 years old. Why write about lawyers and depres- sion in a column about ethics? Depression is a disease, you might say; it's a serious illness, not a moral quandary. But depres- sion dulls the moral senses. It impedes rational and responsible decision-making. The depressed person may no longer be able to make sound ethical judgments, or may simply not care about ethical issues. He may indeed, interact on the surface with clients, but his psychology is under- mined and his judgment impaired. And depressed people often "self-medicate" with alcohol or drugs which, of course, just makes everything worse. Depression in lawyers may be the legal profession's biggest underlying ethical issue. Explanations for depression in lawyers abound. They often start by consider- ing the kind of people attracted to the profession. Chances are those who aspire to become lawyers like conflict and look forward to putting some stick about (fans of Francis Urquhart will know what that means). They're ambitious and competi- tive, rather than accepting and contempla- tive. They're smart instead of intellectual. They like money and hunger for prestige. These predispositions do not favour hap- piness. Once embarked on his profession, the legal tyro finds himself in a perilous envi- ronment. Martin Seligman, a psychologist and former president of the American Psychological Association, has identified several characteristics of legal practice that demoralize practitioners. First, there is the prevalence of pessimism. Seligman writes: "Pessimism is seen as a plus among lawyers, Confronting the problem Lawyers suffer from depression more than any other profession so practitioners and regulators should be open about it. DUShAN mIlIC

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