Mental Health and Law

By Samaa Siddiqui

  Practicing law requires a certain level of emotional disconnection for lawyers to succeed. That being said, the mental health and emotional wellbeing of law professionals is a concept often overlooked. Lawyers and law students tend to have higher levels of psychological and emotional distress when compared to people of other professions or disciplines, due to the demands of their occupation (Douglas, 2015). There is a multitude of evidence suggesting that incorporating emotional intelligence in practice can prove to be efficacious for lawyers, law students, as well as their clients. This writeup sets out to examine the reasons for psychological distress in law students and lawyers, as well as the benefits of assimilating emotional intelligence in practice to all parties involved. There is a plethora of research indicating that law students are at a higher risk of experiencing psychological distress than other university students (Skead and Rogers, 2016). A study done on law students in Germany found significant levels of depression and suicidal thoughts. Students being unaware of the presence or magnitude of their symptoms would hinder their ability to seek professional help, increasing their risk for comorbidities, reduced response to treatment, as well as a reduced quality of life. Depression can also adversely affect academic performance and increase the risk of suicide (Rabkow et al, 2020). Law students have also been seen to have more emotional distress than other students. A student’s workload and peers, as well as low instrumental support are the factors most affecting the risk of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress (Flynn et al, 2019). However, incorporating physical activity in daily life can reduce the risk of developing depression in law students by threefold. Better physical health was associated with better emotional health as well. Depressive symptoms have been seen to have an inverse relationship with levels of physical activity. Students being more socially connected have also been observed to have less psychological distress, for example depression and self- esteem (Skead and Rogers, 2016). As mentioned before, lawyers tend to have poor psychological and emotional wellbeing due to the stressful nature of their profession. Demands such as the time pressure and emotional demands of cases, as well as emphasis on profits and competition, take a toll on their mental and emotional wellbeing. Resources including control, pay, and praise are also factors that drive lawyers and affect their mental wellbeing. It has been discovered that demands, resources, and the role of overcommitment have a link to depression and anxiety in lawyers (Bergin and Jimmieson, 2013). The thinking process of lawyers is often characterized by rational-analytical problem-solving skills and adversarial approaches to any conflict. That being said, these features have contributed to psychological and emotional distress in law students and practitioners (Douglas, 2015). Emotional intelligence has been proven to be a significant factor in shielding lawyers from burnout and increasing their job satisfaction (Platsidou and Salman, 2012). Lawyers and law students have also been seen to have higher levels of disordered eating due to the high expectations of themselves, along with the adversarial nature and competitiveness of their profession. Pessimism is a trait that triggers psychological distress but is integral to a lawyer’s success. Being able to identify the worst-case scenario and possessing critical and analytical thinking skills are part of the pessimistic quality lawyers tend to embody, which then becomes counterproductive to their personal happiness and resilience (Skead et al, 2018). Though an increased level of emotional investment in cases could potentially increase the risk for burnout in lawyers, empathy is an imperative trait for a lawyer to possess. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, as well as having the skills to use, understand, and manage them. Using emotional intelligence to form a relationship with the client suggests a focus of legal practice. Emotions resulting from the lawyer-client relationship positively influences the dynamic of practice and consequently, the success of the case. Self-regulation, self-awareness, and empathy can be crucial to ensure a satisfactory trajectory (Douglas, 2015). Integrating empathy into the handling of a case could allow the strategies adopted to be tailored to be the most effective in regards to the client’s priorities and concerns, as well as assist their clients to refine their own goals. Developing empathic and healthy relationships with the opposing attorney or party is especially important in family law, specifically in the event of a divorce so as to avoid any points of contention between the opposing parties. “Messy” divorces are ones where no party is listening to the opposing one and there is no empathy for either party, thus the needs and concerns of either party are not addressed (Irvin et al, 2004). Taking into account the benefits of establishing an emotional relationship with the client, it is imperative to inculcate and develop emotional intelligence in law students. A significant amount of psychological distress can be mitigated by lawyers and law students incorporating and developing emotional intelligence (Douglas, 2015). Many studies have proven that people who have higher emotional intelligence experience higher levels of happiness and even earn 33 percent more income in their lives than people with low emotional intelligence. They tend to have more satisfying marriages, social networks, and better health as well (Ashley, 2017). Previous research is indicative of emotional intelligence honing leadership skills in lawyers, as well as assertiveness, independence, and their tolerance to stress (Wanser, 2013). Emotional intelligence while practicing law can be enhanced with reflexive practices such as purposeful thinking and contextualizing existing information, while assimilating and connecting new information to the old knowledge, values, and beliefs. A law student can benefit from reflexive practices, as they allow them to percolate those emotional responses in a way in which it positively affects thinking and behavior (Douglas, 2015). In conclusion, emotional intelligence could prove to be a panacea for psychological distress, emotional distress, and burnout in lawyers and law students. Research has shown it to be effective at lowering levels of stress and even predicting career success. It is for this reason that the law curriculum should venture to assimilate and develop emotional intelligence in law students so as to safeguard them from the psychological distress suffered by lawyers of previous generations. References: Ashley, C., 2017. Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Why Lawyers Need It to Succeed. GPSolo, 34(4), pp. 13-15. Bergin, A.J. and Jimmieson, N.L., 2013. Explaining psychological distress in the legal profession: The role of overcommitment. International Journal of Stress Management, 20(2), pp. 134-161. Douglas, S., 2015. Incorporating Emotional Intelligence in Legal Education: A Theoretical Perspective. The E-Journal of Business Education and Scholarship of Teaching, 9(2), pp. 56- 71. Flynn, A.M., Li, Y., and Sanchez, B., 2019. The mental health status of law students: Implications for college counselors. Journal of College Counselling, 22(1), pp. 2-12. Irvin, K., Mitnick, M., and Niemi, A., 2004. “I Feel Your Pain”: The Role of Empathy in Family Law. 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