Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 9 \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP if stress during litigation is high enough, the legal process itself can result in post- traumatic stress or anxiety disorder. "But be very clear: It is an injury, not a mental illness. Legal abuse syndrome is an injury, and many, many, many lawyers have it." The symptoms of what Huffer calls legal abuse syndrome are similar to post- traumatic stress disorder. "One of the first things you'll notice is that the person can't get their mail. It's too traumatizing to go get their mail. They're afraid to open their door; they're afraid to answer their tele- phone. Their life has become consumed with litigation, and bullying very often is a part of litigation." When she appears before courts to give expert witness testimony about legal abuse syndrome, Huffer says many law- yers have approached her afterwards to say they, too, suffer from it. "I have many lawyers who are suffering from this and trying to [remain] in their profession. But the profession itself has become a bullying environment," she says. "We wonder why [lawyers] have such high incidents of sub- stance abuse and depression and suicide. Lawyers are not happy people as a rule." University of Windsor law professor Julie Macfarlane, who studies self-repre- sented litigants' experience in the Cana- dian justice system, says she has heard from many people who describe trauma after going through a legal process. "Many of the symptoms were associated directly with court appearances. This is clearly what causes people the greatest anxiety." The litigants she spoke to used the term post-traumatic court syndrome as a way of capturing the consequences of their overall experience: dealing with conflict, manag- ing a legal process without legal training, experiencing some hostility from some parts of the justice system, and feeling dis- advantaged, says Macfarlane. Some of the symptoms the self-repre- sented litigants described include being unable to walk near the court for months after the case ended without experiencing symptoms such as shaking, sweating, and a racing pulse, she says. Others spoke of having to take a day off from work follow- ing a court appearance, experiencing signs of amnesia and increased use of alcohol. Macfarlane also says some litigants suf- fered social isolation caused by an obses- sive fixation on the details of their case. Stanley says she tried, to no avail, to find support groups that help people like herself. "All I can find so far in Ontario was help for veterans with PTSD." She says she'd like to see recognition of the fallout of a traumatic experience with the courts as a disability in Canada with support made available to sufferers. Generally, lawyers aren't aware of the symptoms their clients may be dealing with, says Macfarlane. "I think there is an enormous problem with conflation of the symptoms of situational stress — which is what this is — with the symptoms of pre- existing mental health issues such as per- sonality disorders," she says. "I hear lawyers talking a lot about clients with personality Continued on page 10 Dedication, knowledge and creativity. Henein Hutchison draws its power from experience and its talent from a team of rising stars. The firm's associate ranks include three clerks of the Supreme Court of Canada and one clerk of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Experience and depth. More experience. More defence. | www.hhllp.ca E N O U G H TA L E N T TO F I L L A R O O M . Untitled-3 1 14-04-30 12:44 PM

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