Canadian Lawyer 4Students

problem is and know that it can be ad- dressed, help is oſt en the hardest part, reiterates Kaiser, but once they do, students usu- ally realize they can easily be accommo- dated. "I think it's fairly easy to become isolated when you're experiencing a mental-health crisis and to think that you're the only one or that you have to sort it out yourself, but once you get be- yond that stage it's normally a positive step, " says Connop. Reaching out for taken to reduce law students' stress, law schools are designed to prepare students for the pressures that lawyers face in the workplace. So it' Although there are steps that can be " he says. learn how to handle their stress and men- tal health early on in their careers in order to have coping mechanisms for the rest of their lives. "Th ere certainly are some ele- ments that are probably always going to be stressful about any professional school environment, especially one that has at its roots some competition for opportunities at the end of the day, s imperative that students that's not to say we can't provide more " " says Sossin. "But support, be more collegial, be more of a caring community. environment that needs to change, the le- gal profession must follow suit. Nunez suspects law students' reluc- However, it's not only the law school tance to speak out about their problems emanates from the legal profession. "Law is a prestigious profession where people have high expectations of lawyers, and lawyers have equally high expectations of themselves. It may be diffi cult to open up and tell people that you have a mental- health issue, or that you need assistance in any way. So it' be talked about," she says. Gold is of the same mind. "In the legal profession, everyone is appearing fi ne be- cause everyone is putting on a show. No- body's showing any weakness or vulner- ability, and therefore everyone seems fi ne, he says. Law fi rms need to be more accept- ing of the "outliers," those who don't fi t the typical image of a lawyer, says Karu. "I don't think the legal fi eld accepts diversity, not necessarily socio or cultural diversity, but just in terms of diversity of personali- ties as well as other industries do. I think if you're suff ering from a mental condition, " I think if you're suffering from a mental condition, it's a particularly tough industry to enter, where you're afraid you're going to be perceived as being different. s something that may not off ered to come talk at a law association in some part of Ontario and the answer back was, 'We don't have those problems here, because many in the profession don't want to admit it, to acknowledge that it' an issue," he says. s even to create an environment where people are treated equally and encouraged to seek help. For those in the legal community, this needs to start with a dialogue about mental health. Discussing mental-health issues can Th e only way to treat mental illness is Rameysh Karu, recent law school graduate it's a particularly tough industry to enter, where you're afraid you're going to be per- ceived as being diff erent," he says. Th en there are those who are just not willing to accept that lawyers — just like anyone else — can also be aff ected by men- tal illness. "People are constantly shocked that people in the profession are vulner- able, when the more we talk about it the less shocking it would be, ' help those who are struggling, says Gold. "Th e fact is it gets dangerous. I've had cli- ents kill themselves, I know about other lawyers who've killed themselves. It can be very intense and that's why it's that important [for people to speak out]." Everyone experiences stressful times some people in the profession refuse to ac- knowledge that it even exists. "[OLAP has] " says Gold. But in their lives when they will need help from others and there should be no shame in that, says Connop. "Everybody has to know that at some point in one's life, you're probably going to need help and there should be no stigma attached to that. Everybody needs help, every- body should be able to access the help they need. " ■ C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS FALL 2012 23 KEVIN HILL

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