“Lawyers are special.” It’s a phrase with wildly differing meanings depending on who utters it. I have no doubt the lawyers (yes, plural) whom I’ve heard say it mean it sincerely, while the legal layfolk tend to be a bit more facetious. Opinions and egos aside, there is a grain of truth to the sentiment.

The practice of law remains one of the few professions left in the United States with the power to regulate itself and as anyone who has ever watched a Spiderman movie knows, power of that magnitude carries with it enormous responsibility. It’s a power that exists only so long as the citizens grant it, so the responsibility lies in serving the interests of those citizens and maintaining their confidence through professional and ethical behavior. Along with the duty to report unethical behavior of colleagues, no less than the doctors of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) have another suggestion to add to that list: the responsibility to conduct honest self-assessment and promote health and wellness throughout the industry.¹

The idea that health and wellness are directly correlated with competence isn’t new — even those most cynical of the wellness movement tried to get a good night’s sleep before taking the bar exam — but it is one that is slowly coming to the forefront of national consciousness. Some states have begun making changes to their rules of professional conduct to include an acknowledgement of this connection, with Utah being particularly eloquent:

Lawyers should be aware that their mental, emotional, and physical well-being may impact their ability to represent clients and, as such, is an important aspect of maintaining competence to practice law and compliance with the standards of professionalism and civility. The addition is not meant to be punitive or impose additional requirements or burdens on lawyers. Rather, it is intended to be educational and to point lawyers to the importance of prioritizing their well-being.²

Unfortunately, this intrinsic knowledge is too often ignored, and subsequent impairment of function usually manifests into a moment of poor judgment. That moment may have a variety of consequences, but all of the negative ones involve catching the attention of entities whose radar it’s best to stay clear of (the Attorney Grievance Commission and the local news immediately come to mind). Lawyers are held to a higher standard, and even one moment of poor judgment cannot, and should not, be excused. ASAM categorizes the legal profession together with doctors, first responders, pilots, and others with a high degree of public responsibility and calls this group “safety sensitive industries.”³ Due to the size of the populations they affect, the magnitude of effect on the population, and the amount of public trust granted to these industries, they are treated differently by various regulatory bodies.⁴ Lawyers are special.

In the interest of honest self-assessment, here are some signs of impairment to be aware of that can potentially affect your ability to practice competently:

• Psychological red flags. Invisible to -others but if you’re feeling numb, anxious, irritable, or overwhelmed to the point that you notice a change in your quality of work, it may be time to seek outside help. The canary in the coal mine is the inability to maintain focus — paying attention is a task that uses multiple areas of the brain and a reduction in ability not only has practical consequences in the world of work, but can also signify a number of different mental health conditions.
• Physiological red flags. They may be visible to those who know you best, but generally, your own honest assessment is necessary. These include nausea, headaches, temperature changes, dizziness, and insomnia, though obviously any significant physiological change should warrant a call to your doctor.
• Functional red flags. This is the point you arrive at when other signs were missed or ignored along the way. It may be a lapse in judgment, unintentional mishap, or “just one bad day,” but in a self-regulating, safety-sensitive profession, any form of functional impairment is unethical. Common examples include absenteeism, missed deadlines, uncivil communication, and development of maladaptive coping skills (such as substance abuse).

Any conviction would also qualify — you may believe that the first-time DUI you pled down to impaired is just an isolated transgression and not a meaningful reflection of your ability to practice law, but if you can’t even follow the law yourself after swearing an oath, how can the public trust you to be a steward of it on their behalf?

If the doctors had their way, impaired individuals working in safety-sensitive professions would be removed from duty until “public risk concerns are addressed and appropriately managed and occupational cues and triggers have been delineated with appropriate workplace management plans instituted.”⁵ A high standard indeed, though the current legal profession, by contrast, doesn’t even hold itself as accountable as the National Football League, where a DUI nets an automatic suspension and players are routinely suspended for conduct even if they’re cleared of all legal wrongdoing.⁶ And while the success of local sports teams tends to have an outsized effect on mental health for some individuals, rest assured the athletes won’t be required to swear an oath to uphold the constitution anytime soon.

To best emphasize the concept of “held to a higher standard,” consider the following questions: How many lapses in judgment could your airline pilot make before you became uncomfortable? How many bad days are acceptable for a police officer over the course of a career? These aren’t hypothetical questions — when the answer gets as high as one, the consequences to the public are dire.

Roberts P. Hudson, the first president of the State Bar of Michigan, opined:

No organization of lawyers can long survive which has not for its primary object the protection of the public ... [y] our organization is designed not only for the benefit and betterment of its members, but primarily for the public at large who require the services of the profession.⁷

Hudson’s words are admittedly far more poignant than “Lawyers are special,” but the sentiment remains the same. If you recognize that you or one of your colleagues is starting to show signs of impairment, contact the SBM Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program to find out what resources are available to you.