Volunteer work directly related to one’s profession area proactively contributes to the public good in a way the public cannot provide itself
The annual Law.com Compass report on the legal profession’s mental health released in May includes some concerning data. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents reported anxiety and 62% said they are physically and mentally overwhelmed. Half reported decreased job satisfaction and 4% are recovering from substance abuse. Alarmingly, 13% admitted to suicidal thoughts in the last year and 43% feel mental health problems and substance abuse are at a crisis level.
Of respondents to The Florida Bar’s 2024 Membership Opinion Survey, 53% feel the public’s view of our profession worsening. Seventy percent of all and 80% of those 35 and younger believe the profession is becoming less desirable. These reports reveal not only a deep dissatisfaction with practicing law but a dim outlook for the future. In fact, improving career satisfaction is a key priority Florida Bar President Rosalyn Sia Baker-Barnes. “We’re really hearing from too many lawyers questioning whether they can sustain a long and fulfilling career in the law,” she said recently. Her focus is refreshing, and I applaud President Baker-Barnes for focusing on the profession’s wellbeing and how well we serve the community.
When attorneys are unhappy in their practices, we cannot adequately serve clients and communities, nor can we improve our industry for our successors. We are a profession burdened by substance abuse, suicide and feelings of inadequacy. It is clear we need to better prioritize our mental health in a way appropriate for our responsibility to the community. For a profession that relies on mental clarity and precision, these statistics have very real implications for our future.
DUTY BASED ON PRIVILEGE
Max Wideman, founder of the Project Management Institute, defines recognized professions by five key attributes: standards of entry, a unique body of knowledge, a service orientation to the profession itself, a sanctioning organization, and a code of ethics. At the U.S. Army War College, based on a collection of authors defining the elements of a profession, these can be distilled into three groups: self-governance, exclusivity based on special skill and knowledge, and a duty to society to perform a function the society cannot perform itself.
Like clergy members, military, or doctors, we are duty bound to work at our highest potential, placing our mission or clients’ needs first while following various ethics rules, regulations and privacy protocols. We are privileged to be a self-regulating group of highly trained professionals, committed to make the profession better. As such, our mental health is essential to fulfilling our duty of providing outstanding representation to our clients.
BALANCE PROMOTES NORMALCY
A primary factor in our mental health emergency, I believe, is our inability to balance our professional, civic and personal lives. Balance does not mean we must do it all, rather it suggests we start with equal and appropriate time and attention to each.
My Army service gives me different insight into the role of balance in strong mental health. I have lived through the lessons from deployments to the Middle East. In a deployed unit, there is no separation of the professional from the personal. Work, play, combat patrols, nourishment, socialization and rest all take place in the same physical confines. It’s hard for the mind to differentiate between work time and rest time. When that environment is unexpectedly disturbed, even in a small way, PTSD can result.
In my civilian experiences, work from home and COVID-19 have presented similar challenges to balance. I recall having to turn off my computer after that last zoom call and announce to my family “dad is home.” just to create some subconscious transition from work to home. Not just for me, but for my family as well.
DESTIGMATIZATION, MENTAL FITNESS, AND SOCIALIZATION ENHANCE LEADERSHIP
Most of us went to law school to make a positive impact on the world. The mental health statistics above suggest that somewhere along the way, we lost sight of those aspirations. The data clearly suggests that the combined demands of practice, career, and family are taking their toll. We have some work to do first – as they say, we must place the mask on ourselves before helping others.
Removing the stigma surrounding mental health issues is an excellent place to start improving the profession’s approach. We must talk about our mental health and acknowledge our struggles; we share our physical obstacles and triumphs, so why not the mental ones? Seeking professional help should not be reserved for times of crisis. Rather, I think about it the same way I think about exercise or wellness checks. In terms we can all relate to, it’s far better for clients to reach out for guidance before making decisions, rather than when lawyers are needed to clean up the mess.
The power of human interaction cannot be underestimated. Ours is a people-based industry, and interpersonal connections are a defining element. Proactively sharing concerns and worries helps resolve perceived issues before they manifest elsewhere.
Self-awareness and a willingness to seek (and provide) help for each other, strengthens a group’s ability to achieve challenging goals. Leading by addressing one’s own or others’ mental health concerns is an often-overlooked skill. The adage about a team being as strong as its weakest link certainly applies here as well.
GIVING BACK CREATES DISTINGUISHED CAREERS
My mentor, the late Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Karl, lived a life of public service, setting an example for us all. He received a purple heart while commanding a tank platoon in World War II and later served in both chambers of the state legislature and as Hillsborough County administrator, among other roles. What struck me most about him, was his ability to balance any trauma from his time at war (or in politics) with his focus on service. It was somehow healing and therapeutic.
A plaque at the entrance to The Florida Bar’s headquarters in Tallahassee dedicates the building to “… the principles of duty and service to the public” and “the improvement of the administration of justice.” For Fred Karl and Wm. Reece Smith, and others in the Greatest Generation, it is evident that giving back, the return to “why,” replenished whatever toll lawyering took on their well-being. Justice Karl’s example reminds us that great attorneys are remembered for their impact on their communities rather than case wins or losses or billions earned for their clients.
PRO BONO WORK FUELS CAREERS
In this country, pro bono work has been part of our profession since inception. It is the product of a profession committed to ideals greater than itself. Volunteer work directly related to one’s profession area proactively contributes to the public good in a way the public cannot provide itself. It’s more than serving on a board or volunteering, it’s using the exclusivity, special skills and knowledge to fulfill our social contract with society. Importantly, lawyering for the public good can replace what may have been lost of ourselves in our daily grind.
From my perspective, pro bono work through a legal aid organization is the most direct way to impact ourselves, our profession and our communities. It takes the basic concept of helping others several steps further: it raises awareness of the legal process, creates familiarity with attorneys and the courts and, most crucially, increases access to counsel for those who cannot afford it.
More directly related to our mental health and career satisfaction, pro bono supported by legal aid creates pathways to unrealized resources. Organizations like mine can assist attorneys in their pro bono work by connecting counsel and clients with necessary community resources. Legal aid organizations frequently offer colleagues advice on pro bono matters, and we can even take over cases if attorneys need to reduce their involvement. We also maintain full malpractice coverage, removing one more concern for pro bono counsel. Legal aid organizations provides CLE credits for volunteer attorneys’ training and work. And of course, helping those who cannot afford representation or don’t know where to find advice provides a high degree of satisfaction. In my practice, my most grateful clients have been non-paying ones.
Giving back through pro bono work (and especially via legal aid) is a relatively simple way for attorneys to rekindle the “whys” of their career choice. The impact is immediate and substantive. The ripples created in a community when solving another person’s issues are significant – they ensure basic needs, they change lives.
OUR DUTY TO SERVE
It is part of our duty as professionals to proactively improve our mental health. Justice Karl unwaveringly committed himself to a life of service, impacting the community as well as the entire state. His legacy provides guidance for lawyers in difficult times: Giving of oneself creates balance and replenishes what our profession so frequently depletes. Service increases the satisfaction we derive from our practice and improves our mental health, benefiting the bar, our families, our clients and the communities we seek to serve.
Jeffrey D. Harvey, Esq., is the chief executive officer of Community Legal Servicesand a lieutenant colonel in the Florida Army National Guard. Harvey chairs The Florida Bar’s Mental Health & Wellness Section of the Standing Committee on Professionalism Committee and also serves on its Pro Bono Legal Services Committee. A full list of the Florida Bar’s mental health resources can be found here.
This article was originally published in The Florida Bar News and is shared here with permission from the publication.