Every associate has heard stories of unexpected suicides, sudden deaths of healthy young lawyers, binge drinking, bad behavior, and DUIs. There's a reason for this; many members of the legal profession have little room for healthy coping mechanisms.
A recent survey counting roughly 37,000 attorneys has once again sounded alarms over the legal industry’s prevalence of stress-related mental health disorders and problem drinking. In recent years, bar associations and law firms have worked to increase monitoring and provide options for lawyers in distress, but the numbers show more help is needed.
Surveying Attorneys, Reviewing the Results
In 2025, members of the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (COLAP) conducted a survey of attorneys, described as “the largest multi-jurisdiction lawyer mental health survey to date.” Researchers Patrick R. Krill and Justin Anker wrote the resulting study, “When Demands Equal Distress: an Updated Understanding of Lawyer Mental Health and Well-Being,” published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Of the 36,925 attorney responses considered eligible for weighting in the survey, Krill and Anker found moderate to “extremely severe” indications of:
- Depression in 21.7 percent
- Anxiety in 20.4 percent
- Stress in 18.9 percent
These reflect weighted percentages of results on the DASS-21 test.
The survey also showed hazardous drinking levels in 41.8 percent of respondents, as measured by the AUDIT-C, with 26.4 percent showing a more elevated level with a risk of liver damage. Over 59 percent reported at least moderate conflicts between work and family life, with almost 36 percent reporting “high or very high” levels of conflict. On the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory test, nearly 48 percent scored high or very high levels of burnout at work.
Variance in the Effects
In general, stress and its resultant problems were higher in younger attorneys, those handling litigation, and those working in solo private practice. According to the authors, the “symptom prevalence [of depression, stress, and anxiety] was highest among the youngest lawyers and declined with age across all three DASS domains.” Attorneys working in litigation reported greater depression, stress, and anxiety, as did those with higher billable hours.
Burnout scores were higher among younger lawyers than older ones. Younger lawyers also reported higher levels of hazardous drinking, as defined by AUDIT-C results. Problem drinking “was higher in private-firm settings than in solo practice … and higher among those whose work involved litigation.”
Although most were aware of lawyer assistance programs for mental health or substance use assistance, they often declined to use them due to “confidentiality concerns (53.3%), concerns about professional reputation or career opportunities (49.2%), and lack of time (34.5%).” Nonetheless, over 81 percent considered it important for the legal profession to do more to help lawyers suffering from mental health issues or substance abuse disorders.
What Does the Profession Need?
The struggle to help lawyers prioritize mental health and safety is not a new one. Krill worked with the American Bar Association to produce an earlier version of this study in 2016, although far fewer lawyers responded — only about one-third of those surveyed in 2025.
What do lawyers struggle with most? Younger lawyers, as Krill and Anker write, are likely to carry additional burdens due to the difficulties of being new, “a comparative lack of support or established relationships within the profession, educational debt, the demands of starting a family, and the disruption of artificial intelligence’s growing role in the profession.”
Psychological distress and loneliness can create a spiraling effect, especially for those involved in litigation, which demands intense time commitments and constant confrontation. But as they note, the fear of stigma and loss of opportunity, as well as the constant time pressure of work, keeps many attorneys from using mental health resources. Some leave the profession entirely.
Lawyers deserve better. The ABA’s COLAP provides a list of nationwide resources, and FindLaw has a directory of state lawyer assistance programs. Reaching out for help is hard — but not as hard as suffering.
