Practicing Under Pressure: Mental Health Challenges and Solutions for the Legal Profession

The legal profession is renowned for its high-pressure environment, long hours, and adversarial dynamics-factors that contribute to elevated rates of anxiety, depression, burnout, and substance use among attorneys. In this program, forensic psychiatrists Dr. Charles Saldanha and Dr. David Kan, along with attorney Gabriella DiSilvio, combine clinical insight with real-world perspective to examine how workplace stress affects mental health in the legal field.

Attendees will examine five critical domains affecting lawyer well-being-work-life balance, substance use, anxiety, depression, and burnout-while gaining insights into early warning signs, professional risk factors, and effective support strategies. The course also outlines ethical considerations tied to mental health and offers actionable solutions that law firms and attorneys can adopt to promote a culture of resilience and support.

This presentation is essential viewing for legal professionals seeking to foster mental health awareness and mitigate attrition in the profession.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the key mental health challenges prevalent in the legal profession, including the high incidence of anxiety, depression, and substance use

2. Recognize the early warning signs of burnout, depression, and impaired functioning, particularly in high-stakes legal roles

3. Understand how mental health intersects with ethical obligations, including the duty of competence under ABA Model Rule 1.1

4. Describe practical strategies for individual attorneys and legal employers to promote mental wellness, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking behaviors

5. Distinguish between burnout and clinical depression, and understand when and how to seek appropriate mental health care or intervention