A BigLaw suicide survivor’s prescription for the legal profession’s mental health crisis

I was young, single, healthy, confident and “bulletproof” when I entered law school immediately after college in 1978. I did not have any personal experience with anyone suffering mental health challenges. Mental health education and services were the furthest things from my mind.

May 16, 2024 3:28 PM CDT

A letter to young women lawyers about ‘SADNESS’ in the law

My dear sister (in law), welcome to our profession of stress, anxiety, depression, negativity, endangerment, sickness and suicide (also known as "SADNESS"). In addition to the SADNESS, many of us carry secrets, scars and an insatiable longing for change. They all dishearten, discourage and divide us in devastating ways. Yet you can prepare for and overcome them.

May 8, 2024 2:15 PM CDT

Family members struggle to help University of Chicago law grad who became homeless

Many states are trying to figure out how to help people like 44-year-old lawyer Rob Dart, who is living on the streets of Los Angeles after rejecting his medication for psychosis.

May 6, 2024 11:32 AM CDT

BigLaw firm introduces coaching and support for lawyers who have ADHD

There are law firms in which Carrie Garber Siegrist, a senior associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Goodwin Procter, might have had to be secretive about her diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD. But at Goodwin Procter, Garber Siegrist says, she feels embraced and supported.

May 6, 2024 8:55 AM CDT

Netflix’s ‘The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker’ smashes the circumstantial evidence argument

Netflix’s The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker tells the story of a man experiencing homelessness, whose rise and fall overshadowed what may have been telltale signs of someone suffering from mental health issues.

Apr 18, 2024 10:08 AM CDT

Incarceration series includes female inmates but doesn’t tell full story

“Moreover, the series has thus far failed to explain some of the most counterintuitive aspects and sex-based discrepancies of American sentencing and incarceration,” writes Oklahoma lawyer and ABA Journal columnist Adam Banner.

Apr 8, 2024 12:32 PM CDT

New California law placing unhoused individuals with addictions in conservatorships faces questions

Anyone deemed to be “gravely disabled” or suffering from a significant substance abuse disorder can be placed into a conservatorship and institutionalized for an initial 72-hour hold. Longer placements can also happen.

Apr 1, 2024 12:40 AM CDT

NY law prof is calling on ‘Lawyer Nation’ to reform

Ray Brescia, a law professor at Albany Law School in New York, has taken a hard look at the country's legal system in his new book, Lawyer Nation: The Past, Present, and Future of the American Legal Profession.

Feb 28, 2024 8:44 AM CST

Doctors question use of ‘excited delirium’ to explain deaths of suspects in police custody

Critics argue that “excited delirium” has no medical foundation, and that its origins are plagued with racism. The term’s role in high-profile police misconduct cases has prompted major medical organizations to repudiate its use.

Feb 13, 2024 12:30 PM CST

Federal judge refuses to order reinstatement of 96-year-old federal appeals judge, her second loss in a week

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has refused to order reinstatement to new case assignments for a 96-year-old federal appeals judge who claims that the laws governing judicial disability are unconstitutional.

Feb 12, 2024 3:56 PM CST

Am I losing my mind? How to maintain cognitive abilities as senior lawyers age

Ever have that thought? “I must be losing my mind because I can’t remember where I parked my car or set my iPhone, your name—although I recognize your face—an address, a birthday, a password, a set of numbers, what I was looking for, etc.” Many aging lawyers have—including me.

Feb 8, 2024 2:46 PM CST

UK law firm’s ‘Switch On/Switch Off’ program allows ‘chunk of time off’ for reduced pay

U.K. law firm Slaughter and May's "Switch On/Switch Off” program for associates is different than reduced-hours programs offered by U.S. firms.

Jan 23, 2024 3:49 PM CST

SCOTUS will hear death row inmate’s wrongful-conviction claim supported by state attorney general

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip is entitled to reversal of his conviction because the state suppressed evidence that a co-defendant who implicated Glossip had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Jan 22, 2024 1:04 PM CST

Lawyer who argued cocaine can be beneficial now says he should have retained counsel in ethics case

Updated: A now-former assistant public defender who was accused of using cocaine before his client’s hearing is in drug rehab and seeking disciplinary probation, rather than a suspension of his law license.

Jan 11, 2024 3:45 PM CST

‘Airborne defendant’ leaps over bench, attacks Vegas judge during court hearing recorded on video

A man who pleaded guilty to attempted battery with substantial bodily harm attacked a Las Vegas judge who was sentencing him Wednesday.

Jan 4, 2024 9:55 AM CST