Mental Health in the Legal Profession – Views from the Bench
By Amanda Steger
“I have made hundreds of court decisions. But the decision that got the most attention was the decision to disclose my mental health status.”
Justice Gascon, January 16, 2020, Schulich School of Law
The Dalhousie Law Students’ Society hosted the annual Chuck J. Meagher Law Hour in January, where the esteemed speaker was retired Justice Clément Gascon of the Supreme Court of Canada. Justice Gascon practiced law for 21 years before being appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 2002. Justice Gascon was appointed to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2012, and in 2014 was appointed as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada. Justice Gascon retired in September 2019.
Justice Gascon spoke on mental health in the legal profession. There is a real and experienced pressure amongst lawyers that perpetuates self-doubt, perfectionism, and poor mental health. Recognizing this and wanting to make a change, after his retirement Justice Gascon took on an advocacy role and became part of a Quebec Bar working group dedicated to promoting and supporting mental wellness in the legal profession.
There is a troubling prevalence of mental health issues in the legal profession. The anxiety that is felt – whether you are a corporate lawyer, family lawyer, litigator, or anything in between – is insidious. Lawyers experience depression, anxiety, and substance use far more than the general population, and also more than those in other stressful professions (Canadian Lawyer). A comprehensive American study from 2016 reported that 28% of American lawyers struggle with depression and 19% struggle with anxiety (ABA Journal). Studies of American and Canadian lawyers also show that law is an anomaly in that even when lawyers achieve traditional markers of success, mental health issues are still rampant, if not higher. This contrasts starkly with other professions where the higher status you achieve, the lower the likelihood of a mental health issue (Canadian Lawyer). A common factor to blame for these stressors is the intense workload and billable hour targets. However, the pressure lawyers place on themselves – concocted by a medley of self-doubt, perfectionism, and impostor syndrome – is perhaps even more so to blame for the stress.
Justice Gascon spoke about this impostor syndrome and his experiences with it. He shared three lessons of highs and lows of working in the legal profession:
1) Success is flattering, but it doesn’t come accidentally. Success comes with hard work.
2) Success requires a balance: you must believe and trust your capacities, but also be open to learning and improvement – you need to stay coachable. It requires the humility to recognize that if you think you know everything, you’ll never learn anything.
3) Imposter syndrome doesn’t disappear. Do not feel bad about imposter syndrome, he insisted. You will spend your first two years in practice wondering how you got to be there. But this experience is not necessarily bad; it keeps you grounded.
The legal community needs mental health initiatives. The Courts are not always the friendliest place for mental health conversations, but they are improving.
Justice Gascon shared his own story, and contrasted it with the experience of a colleague a few years earlier. When one of Justice Gascon’s colleagues had struggled with mental health, he was asked to leave the court, and to not continue writing decisions. The colleague subsequently disappeared from public life. Justice Gascon’s story involved suffering a panic attack in 2019. This set off a media frenzy, questioning his abilities on the bench. Justice Gascon reassured the public that he was fully capable of performing judicial duties, notwithstanding his mental health status. His decision to publicly disclose his illness, and to persist despite it, helped advance addressing the stigma of mental health in the courts. Justice Gascon noted that he went on to complete his written decision on Vavilov (the landmark decision had been released the day prior, which cased a stir from the law students in the room). Justice Gascon also noted that he received a standing ovation after hearing his final case in the SCC. Justice Gascon’s story is one of confronting stigma, and being respected for it. Justice Gascon is hopeful that the current generation has a key advantage when it comes to mental health issues; they seem more willing to discuss it, and seem to be less afraid to address elephants in the room.
Justice Gascon’s advice to his younger self was directed at the pessimistic perfectionism that is ever-present in law school and in practice. “Stop trying to reach perfection. Try your best and it’ll be better than most.” Of course if someone had a physical injury, the obvious answer is to rest to try to heal. However when it comes to mental health and injury, we don’t often let ourselves heal. We ignore the signs and we push forward. It’s no secret that lawyers and law students work and study long hours, and sleep deprivation is very detrimental to mental health (McGill News). When Justice Gascon feels his illness start to creep back in he acknowledges the warning signs and goes “back to basics”, which include eat, sleep, exercise, and fun.
Justice Gascon’s conversation was moving. It was a sobering and necessary reminder that the profession we have selected for ourselves is hard, and it is alright that we second guess ourselves and our competence. Despite the long hours and hard work, perfection isn’t possible, so seeking perfection results in chasing something that can’t be achieved. But hard work, a support system, and eat, sleep, exercise and fun, and the openness to talk about it, can help the movement in improving mental health in the legal profession.
Justice Gascon told us: “We are privileged to have careers in Canadian law; live up to the responsibilities that come with it. You owe it to society and you owe it to yourself.”
Look out for yours and others’ health, mental and physical, and visit the links below for more information for mental health resources in the legal profession.
