Legal knowledge | Higher education » Molly Stuart - Teaching Human Lawyers

Source: http://www.doksinet 1 Teaching Human Lawyers Molly Stuart, J.D∗ As we contemplate how we develop young lawyers, it is clear that we care passionately about their ability to analyze rationally and objectively, their adversarial competence, and their ability to stand up with vigor as an agent representing another’s rights. If we also cared that we sent them out in the world with their self-esteem in tact, with strong, selfreflective powers, chemically sober, and with trusted connections between family, friends, peers and clients, that would be an even greater accomplishment. At times it is not so clear that we care as deeply about their personal and moral development as about their intellectual growth. We live in a world where studies show that although law students enter law school quite happy and idealistic about helping others, there soon is a troubling shift to major indicators of psychological distress. These negative changes persist through law school and into the

students’ early careers, making it clear that the negative findings do not represent a brief adjustment period at the beginning of law school. 1 The incidence of clinically elevated anxiety, hostility, depression, and other symptoms among law students ranged from eight to fifteen times that of the general population. 2 In addition, a significant percentage of practicing attorneys are experiencing significant psychological distress – well beyond that shown in the general population. 3 These trends seem to be directly traced to law study and law practice. The unusual symptoms are not exhibited when the student enters law school 4 but emerge shortly after beginning law school and remain, without significant abatement, well after graduation. 5 This heightened distress can lead to significant depression, suicide, substance abuse, major life dissatisfaction and lack of professionalism. ∗Molly Stuart, J.D University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (1989); BA Psychology,

University of California, Davis (1985). 1 Connie J.A Beck, Bruce D Sales and G Andrew H Benjamin, Lawyer Distress: Alcohol –Related Problems and Other Psychological Concerns Among A Sample of Practicing Lawyers, 10 J.L & Health 1, 2 (1995-1996). 2 Lawrence Kreiger, Institutional Denial About the Dark Side of Law School, and Fresh Empirical Guidance for Constructively Breaking the Silence, 52 J. Legal Educ, 112, 115 (2002) [hereinafter Denial]. Citing, G Andrew Benjamin et al, The Role of Legal Education in Producing Psychological Distress Among Law Students and Lawyers, Am. B Found Res J 225 (1986) [hereinafter The Role] Confirming and extending a previous study, Stephen Shanfield & G. Andrew H Benjamin, Psychiatric Distress in Law Students, 35 J.Legal Educ 65, 68-69 (1985) 3 Beck et al, supra note 1 at 2. 4 Beck et al, supra note 1 at 2. 5 Beck et al, supra note 1 at 2. Source: http://www.doksinet 2 Depression: When psychiatrists speak of depression, they are referring

to a well-defined set of symptoms that would include a diminished sense of pleasure, known as "anhedonia", a significant increase or decrease in appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, loss of energy, feeling worthless or guilty, difficulty concentrating, depressed mood, and thoughts of death. 6 A study of law students and practicing lawyers in Arizona discovered that when students enter law school, they suffer from depression at approximately the same rate as the general population (approximately 8 – 10%). 7 However, by the spring of the first year of law school, 32% of law students suffer from depression, and by the spring of the third year of law school, the figure escalates to an astonishing 40%. 8 Two years after graduation, the rate of depression falls, but only to 17%, or roughly double the level of the general population. 9 In addition, in a 1990 Johns Hopkins study, practicing lawyers ranked highest in major depressive disorder among 104 occupational groups. 10 It is

estimated that depression reduces work productivity an average of 20%. 11 Recent research in the science of the brain has shown that depression causes structural damage to the brain. Scientists now think that the depressed brain suffers areas of cell shrinkage or death because of the depression itself. Depression can be the source of cell atrophy or cell death in the brain and after each episode of depression that causes cell damage a person is ever likelier yet to have another episode of depression. 12 Some believe this is a result of the flight or fight response in the brain -- if people are exposed to stress, that system overdrive can impact the physical structure of the brain. 13 Depression is now understood not to be just decreased mood; it is a neurological event that can have permanent impact on the brain structure. Law school stress may be setting the biological stage for further, deeper or permanent damage to the brain and or depression in our students. 6 David R. Edelstein,

MD, Practicing Law, A Challenge to Your Mental Health, CBA Record 24, 27 (1994). 7 Patrick Schiltz, On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession. 52 Vand L Rev 871, 875 (1999) See also, G Andrew H Benjamin et al, The Prevalence of Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Cocaine Abuse Among United States Lawyers, 13 Intl J.L & Psychiatry 233, 240 (1990) [hereinafter Prevalence] citing Benjamin et al, supra note 2 at 246 8 Id . 9 Id. Schlitz, supra note 7 at 874. Citing William W Eaton et al, Occupations and the Prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder, 32 J. Occupational Med 1079 (1990) 11 Edelstein, supra note 6 at 29. 12 Interview by Ira Flatow with Dr. Brian Doyle, psychiatrist in private practice, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine, Georgetown Medical School, on Science Friday, National Public Radio, 12/19/2003 [hereinafter NPR]. Audio transcript at wwwnprorg 10 13 Id. Source: http://www.doksinet 3 Substance

Abuse: In 1994, the Association of American Law Schools reported the results of a questionnaire submitted to a substantial sample of law students in the United States. The students were asked whether they had abused various substances during their lifetime and whether they had done so during law school. Almost a third, 309 percent of the students responding admitted that they had abused alcohol during their lives, and 11.7 percent confessed to abusing alcohol since they started law school. 14 One researcher conservatively estimated that 15% of lawyers are alcoholics. 15 A study of Washington lawyers found that 18% were "problem drinkers," a percentage almost twice the approximately 10 percent alcohol abuse and/or dependency rates estimated for adults in the United States. 16 And, regarding practicing attorneys, an ABA survey in California and New York determined that 50-70 percent of all disciplinary cases involved alcoholism. 17 Suicide: Law students show from five to

fifteen times the normal incidence of clinical psychological distress leading to suicide, 18 and practicing lawyers reportedly think about committing suicide and commit suicide far more often than do non-lawyers. 19 A North Carolina study found that 11% of lawyers had experienced suicidal ideation at least once a month for the past year. 20 In one study of mens suicide cases, researchers found, male lawyers were two times as likely to commit suicide as the general population. 21 An increasing risk associated with suicide may be that of suits brought against school districts and school personnel seeking damages in connection with student suicides. 22 Most cases involve suits in pre-graduate school, but the trend is spreading. A wrongful death suit was brought by the parents of a young attorney who jumped to his death. The 14 Rick B. Allan, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Lawyers: Are We Ready to Address the Denial? 31 Creighton Law Review 265, 266 (1997). See also, Report of the AALS

Special Committee on Problems of Substance Abuse in the law Schools, 44 J. Legal Ed 35, 43 (1994) 15 Eric Drogin, Alcoholism in the Legal Profession: Psychological and Legal Perspectives and Interventions, 15 Law & Psychol. Rev 117, 127 (1991) 16 Schiltz, supra note 7 at 876. See also, Benjamin et al, [Prevalence] supra note 7 at 241 17 Allan, supra note 14, at 268. Kreiger, [Denial] supra note 2 at 114. See also, Beck et al, supra note 1 at 49-50; Allan, supra note 14; Benjamin et al., [Prevalence] supra note 7; Eric Drogin, supra note 15 18 19 Schiltz, supra note 7 at 879. See also, Deborah K Holmes Learning from Corporate America: Addressing Dysfunction in the Large Law Firm, 31 Gonz. L Rev 373 (1995-1996) Laura Gatland, Dangerous Dedication, 83 A.BA J, ,28, 28 (Dec 1997) Doretta Zemp, Turned-Off Lawyers, Student Law. Nov 1981 20 Schiltz, supra note 7 at 880. 21 Gatland, supra note 19 at 28. Eugene C. Bjorklun, EdD, School Liability for Student Suicides, 106 Ed Law Rep

21, 21 (1996) 22 Source: http://www.doksinet 4 suit complained that the firm gave too much work, set unrealistic deadlines and assigned him tasks beyond his capabilities. When the young attorney finally cracked under the pressure, the suit claimed, the firm didnt do enough to help. During a layover in Charlotte, N.C, on his way back to New York and "unable to contemplate the prospect" of returning to work, he jumped off the roof of a downtown hotel. 23 The suit was eventually dismissed. However, people clearly feel a direct connection between the legal profession and their sense of distress. Loss of General Life Satisfaction: A longitudinal study of law students, measuring values, motivation, and well-being in students just after they entered law school, again toward the end of the first year, and during the following fall semester, shows that the arriving students exhibited well-being, and healthy values and motives -- stronger, in fact, than a large undergraduate

sample. 24 Within six months, however, the law students experienced marked decreases in wellbeing and life satisfaction and marked increases in depression, negative affect, and physical symptoms. 25 Across numerous studies and measurement instruments, law students almost always report higher levels of anxiety than comparison groups -- including medical students. In some cases they report mean scores on anxiety measures that are comparable to psychiatric populations. 26 A study of California lawyers by the RAND Institute for Civil Justice found that only half say if they had to do it over, they would become lawyers. California lawyers were reported to be “profoundly pessimistic” about the state of the legal profession and its future. 27 About forty percent of young lawyers responding to a career satisfaction survey said they werent getting personal satisfaction from their jobs. In this poll, only a little more than half of the lawyers in private practice were satisfied consistent

with the ABAs 1984 and 1990 findings). 28 However, the 1980 poll dramatically compared this to ninety-six percent of legal educators and sixty-two percent of lawyers employed outside the legal profession who were satisfied. 29 Some polls even indicate that almost half of 23 Mark Hansen, Suicide Suit Dismissed: Complaint Blamed Law Firm In Overworked Associates Death 80-Jul A.BA J 25, 25 (1994) 25 Krieger, [Denial] note 2 at 122. Krieger, [Denial] note 2 at 114. Citing Matthew Dammeyer and Narina Nunez, Anxiety and Depression Among Law Students: Current Knowledge and Future Directions, 23 Law & Hum. Behav 55, 61 (1999) 27 Schiltz, supra note 7 at 881. 26 28 Susan Daicoff, Asking Leopards to Change Their Spots: Should Lawyers Change? A Critique of Solutions to Problems with Professionalism by Reference to Empirically-Derived Attorney Personality Attributes, 11 Geo. J Legal Ethics 547, 554 (1998) [hereinafter Spots]. Citing James S Granelli, The Happiest Lawyers: They Teach, Natl

L J 10 (Aug. 11, 1980) 29 Daikoff, [Spots] id. at 554 See eg, Am B Assn Young Law Division, State of the Legal Profession 1990, 1, 2 (1991). Source: http://www.doksinet 5 practicing attorneys would not choose again to be a lawyer or would change jobs if they had a reasonable alternative. 30 Decreased Professionalism: “The causal link between high levels of stress and lowered performance is well documented," states Dr. Isaiah Zimmerman, a Washington DC psychologist who specializes in counseling lawyers and judges. 31 The qualities which the field of psychology has identified as helpful to happiness and life satisfaction have much in common with those values typically listed as desirable for professionalism -- integrity, altruism, cooperation, and community-mindedness. It is very unlikely that a person experiencing high amounts of stress will have energy left to epitomize the high ideals of integrity, responsibility and altruism that we hold for the professional lawyer. When

the intellect and power of the role of attorney is not balanced with more community or other-minded qualities, attorneys are likely to harm the functioning of the judicial system, the reputation of the profession, and their self-concept as well. 32 Conclusion: The law school world that we live in suggests that law school increases students’ distress level -- impacting depression, substance abuse, suicide and general life dissatisfaction -- in significant amounts, starting shortly after law school begins. Students start with normal psychological levels of security and distress, then become disproportionately dysfunctional rapidly upon entry into law school, and then significantly worsen through the law school experience. Amazingly, few professors or administrators find these statistics shocking. Where Can We Look for a Resolution? Distress to our students is a difficult subject to even discuss, since suggesting that students are distressed implies that we are distressing them and

that idea causes our own ego and guilt to cloud our concern. No matter how much law professors are willing to be “tough” with their students for the sake of instilling professional competence, none of us likes to even contemplate that we are doing damage to the life of the young men and women who move before us in class after class. It’s not me; we each want to cry out I love teaching; I’m trying to do the best for my students. 30 Daikoff, [Spots] id. at 554 James J. Alfini and Joseph N Van Vooren, Is There A Solution to the Problem of Lawyer Stress? The Law School Perspective. 10 JL & and Health 61, 65 (1995-96) See also, Christopher T Borgeson & Elizabeth M. Link, Stress Management: Minimizing the Risk of Malpractice -- Is Stress Affecting Your Competency?, 2(3) Legal Malprac.Rep 11, 12 (1991) 31 32 Lawrence S. Krieger, What We’re Not Telling Law Students – and Lawyers – That They Really Need to Know: Some Thoughts-in Action Toward Revitalizing the Profession

From Its Roots, 13 J.L & Health 1, 16 (1999) [hereinafter Need to Know]. Source: http://www.doksinet 6 And so, we grasp at the reasons outside of us. “It’s them, it’s not us,” I hear professors say, “they self-select.” Perhaps the observed and reported distress is an inevitable product of doing a tough job well. Or, are the statistics evidence of systemic weaknesses in the ways people decide to become lawyers? “It’s just some biased statistical studies,” we say, “you can’t trust the statistics.” “We’ve always done it this way and it was fine.” or, “Yes, they’re distressed, but law school has gotten ‘kinder and gentler’ and they’re more distressed than they were when Kingsfield was their model.” “They can’t be coddled, they have to go out and be good lawyers, it’s tough out there.” “I loved law school and most of my peers did too, there’s nothing wrong.” Let’s not look, we say, each in our own voice. I don’t want it to

be me; I don’t know what to do about it. I’m not competent in the psychological arena What will it cost, what will we lose? Irresolvable guilt and ultimate powerlessness whisper to us to not look here. In many ways we’re justified in our resistance. We are powerless, and it isn’t us None of us has the power to make someone who is fundamentally saddened, cheerful. None of us has the power to reconfigure the priorities of someone who has decided that not living is a better plan than living. We don’t have the power and we are uncomfortable with that, too. But, despite the fact that statistics are jaded and confusing and more studies and samples should be included, there is enough of a red flag that we must look. It may be difficult for us to approach these concerns -- because of skepticism that students come to law school already trained this way, fear that we have little in the way of interpersonal expertise ourselves, a sense of being overwhelmed by the options, or the inertia

of “it’s always been this way,” -- we need to consider whether we are doing harm to our charges. There is a large difference between blame and responsibility Blame looks backwards and asks, "Who did it?" Responsibility looks forward and asks, "What can we do?" 33 We must ask what we can do, otherwise, many of us will essentially be conducting ourselves as if deeply human elements of our lives, of our selves, and of others dont exist or dont matter. 34 Law School Culture Influences: An Extrinsic v. Intrinsic Motivation System: A law school’s culture -- not an institutional directive but a deleterious side effect of our traditional training -- tends to focus on a narrow definition of success -- getting high grades and securing prestigious employment. Law school training emphasizes and exacerbates the students’ orientation toward extrinsic evaluation and motivation, causing them distress. These suggested values or pressures can undermine the 33 Daikoff,

[Spots] supra note 28 at 566. See also, John C Buchanan, The Demise of Legal Professionalism: Accepting Responsibility and Implementing Change, 28 Val. U L Rev 563, 581 (1994) 34 Krieger, [Need to Know] supra note 32 at 17. Source: http://www.doksinet 7 foundation that previously gave students a sense of self-worth, purpose, and personal fulfillment. The more recent Sheldon study on human needs and many others indicate instead that pursuit of the "extrinsic" goals, which are embedded particularly deep in the culture of most law schools and law firms, does not produce a good life and in fact can very well undermine it. 35 The professional actions of today’s lawyers are damaged in the drive and competition for money and influence. Extrinsic motivations are defined as acting for reasons outside of oneself -- to gain external, objective rewards – the American dream implies that what is good in work and in life is defined by financial affluence, influence, recognition, and

other external indicia of achievement (and it often follows that that the dream will be secured by academic success in law school). 36 The dream of financial success leading to happiness includes law students, who, like most Americans, seem to be more materialistic than they were twenty-five or thirty years ago. In 1970, 39% of students entering college said that "being very well off financially" was either an "essential" or a "very important" life goal; in 1993, the figure had almost doubled to 75%. 37 Law students often manifest extreme concern over how they may appear to or compare with others (including how their performance reflects on them). Lawyers and law students are tremendously prone to insecurity and an unhealthy need for status, but the top grades and high salaries so much emphasized in law schools and law firms do not improve ones likelihood of a happy and satisfying life. In fact, just the opposite may turn out to be the case. 38 Even the

objectively successful struggle -- research shows that the general distress and depression among law students is not mitigated by high grades, (nor is dissatisfaction among lawyers mitigated by high salaries.) 39 A second dimension of motivation is defined by the content of ones goals and values-the types of goals one tends to pursue. This motivational dimension is also divided into intrinsic and extrinsic categories, and a similar variance in well-being and life satisfaction has been found to attend the two types of goals. People who primarily seek extrinsic goals, which include financial affluence, luxury, power or image, consistently experience decreased satisfaction and well-being compared to other groups, while those whose primary goals or values include intrinsic factors, such as self-improvement, close relationships, or social betterment, experience greater satisfaction and well-being than others. 40 35 Krieger. [Denial] note 2 at 121 Approximately 40 relevant studies are

reviewed and summarized in Kennon M. Sheldon & Tim Kasser, Goals, Congruence, and Positive Well-Being: New Empirical Support for Humanistic Theories, J. Hum Psychol, Winter 2001, at 30 36 Krieger, [Denial] supra note 2 at 126. 37 Schiltz, supra note 7 at 896. See also, David G Myers & Ed Diener, Who Is Happy? 6 Psychol Sci 10, 12 (1995). 38 Kreiger, [Denial] supra note 2 at 119. 39 Krieger, [Denial] supra note 2 at 118. See also, Sol M Linowitz, The Betrayed Profession (New York, 1994). 40 Lawrence S. Krieger, Psychological Insights: Why Our Students and Graduates Suffer, and What we Might do About It, 1 J. Ass’n Legal Writing Directors 259, 261 (2002) [hereinafter Why Suffer] For a thorough review of this research, see Sheldon & Kasser, supra note 35 at 30. Source: http://www.doksinet 8 Extrinsic motivation and goal pursuits tend to replace, or distract one from, the pursuit of internal, personal goals. In studies, subjects who identified money, image, or influence

as important for life satisfaction consistently experience the lowest sense of meaning, personal integration and well-being. 41 Extrinsic goals and motives are therefore associated with insecurity and directly produce negative life experiences such as dissatisfaction, stress, and irritation. Anxiety or depression is likely to manifest because, regardless of ones level of success within this paradigm, one will not experience internal satisfaction. By contrast, persons whose primary goal content was "intrinsic"-- toward personal growth, intimacy, and community integration -- -- working and behaving in ways that are either inherently satisfying or that reflect strongly ones deepest convictions and beliefs -experienced significantly greater well-being. 42 Intrinsic motivations are correlated with enhanced well-being, increased meaning, and increased personal and social integration. Rational/Objective Thinking: One of the most significant facets of law school training is the

requirement that students think in a rational, objective manner about all issues presented before them. The subtle yet pervasive requirement of our training is for them to develop convincing reasons in support of any argument, whether each personally agrees with the argument or shares the values supported by the analysis. We set students moral compasses adrift on a sea of relativism, in which all positions are viewed as "defensible" or "arguable" and none as "right" or "just," and train students who recognize and regret these developments in themselves to put those feelings aside as nothing more than counter-productive relics from their pre-law lives. 43 Law students get the message, early and often, that what they believe, or believed, at their core, is unimportant -- in fact "irrelevant" and inappropriate in the context of legal discourse. Law students are required to defend any argument with cogent and convincing logic, on behalf of

anybody. This can lead to a moral numbing of the students 44 Carl A Auerbach observes, "The subordination of their personal values in their professional role is the most perplexing personal problem [law students and young lawyers] face." 45 41 Krieger, [Denial] supra note 2 at 121. See Kennon M Sheldon et al, What Is Satisfying About Satisfying Events? Testing 10 Candidate Psychological Needs, 80 J. Pers & Soc Psychol 325, 325-27 (2001) 42 Krieger, [Denial] supra note 2 at 121. Reviewed and summarized in Sheldon & Kasser, supra note 35 at 30. 43 Krieger, [Denial] supra note 2 at 125. See also, The Personal Dimension of Professional Responsibility, Law & Contemp. Probs, 87, 102 (Summer/Autumn 1995) 44 Ann Iijima, Lessons Learned: Legal Education and Law Student Dysfunction, 48 J. Legal Educ, 524, 529 (1998). Many commentators suggest that attitudes generally thought of as dysfunctional, such as paranoia and hostility, actually may be advantageous in the legal

profession. Source: http://www.doksinet 9 By the end of their first year, law students maintain a detached attitude and become alienated from their former ideals. 46 Finally, lawyering communication is primarily objective and adversarial. The students’ use of their new skills may alienate the "outsiders" in their lives. Anyone who has had a spouse, sibling, friend, or child go through law school needs no convincing . a legal education instills greater disputatiousness. 47 The process of learning to think like a lawyer is fundamentally the development of a critical skepticism about any proposition, no matter how seemingly straightforward. Nor is this tendency of law students towards gratuitous disputation merely a trivial irritant. What to the student is essentially an analytical mind exercise is often received by the listener as a personally aggressive verbal assault, or at least a coldly distancing diversion. Many a law students friendship or even marriage has

floundered over this issue. 48 The Need to “Win” or be in the Top 10%: There is desperation in law students that they need to be “better” than others. Almost all of them want to be in the top 10% of the class -- speaking of the need for scholarships or jobs as the reason. These assumptions revolve in significant part around the notions that only the "best" will reliably find success in their lives. 49 Law school seems to communicate to students that it is how you do, rather than who you are, that really matters. 50 This sense that one’s fundamental worth is directly measured by one’s performance on law school exams and law journal, or the opinions of teachers and potential employers, can be destructive. If a person falls into the trap of measuring worth by class rank, or money, they will always feel inadequate. Those comparisons can facilitate our disconnection from a sense of ourselves as inherently worthwhile people. 51 Students lose their sense of worth that

was once based in personal values, commitments and dreams and now their happiness and security depends on their place in the hierarchy of academic success. In many law schools performance considerations virtually dominate the culture and are identified with personal worth. In all the psychological scales reported in the Beck/Sales study, attorneys displayed the highest incidence of dysfunction in the area of insecurity -- specifically focused on the need to compare ones self with others. An astounding 35% of the responding attorneys were found to be distressed to the "clinical" level on this scale. 52 Studies suggest that 45 Id. at 529 Note Making Docile Lawyers: An Essay on the Pacification of Law Students, 111 Harv. L Rev 2027, 2031 (1998). 47 Iijima, supra note 44 at 528. 48 Iijima supra note 44 at 537. 46 49 Krieger, [Need to Know] supra note 32 at 8. Krieger, id. [Need to Know] at 12 51 Krieger, id. [Need to Know] at 8 52 Krieger, id. [Need to Know] at 13 50 Source:

http://www.doksinet 10 environments which may be identified in part by pressure for academic or other forms of perfection -- a sense that one is never doing quite well enough, and excessive sensitivity to mistakes -- create "perfect candidates for addiction". 53 In contrast, genuine self-esteem involves the sense that one is inherently good, without comparison with or reference to others, and regardless of whether one committed palpable errors that day. 54 Students and lawyers need to realize that good, valuable people make mistakes as a normal part of human life, and that mistakes reflect transitory imperfections in what one is doing, rather than fundamental flaws in who one intrinsically is. 55 Loss of Connection to Others: The first year of law school is cultural training into a new world. It is a process of identity homogenization. Students are broken down and separated from their connections to the lives they lived before. This process can be a painful one Before

coming to law school, most students enjoy family, friendship, and community networks that provide social and emotional support, as well as a sense of belonging and personal value. During law school students can let these contacts slip away or be forced away by the strenuous academic commitments. Students preoccupation and immersion with their new environment, new peers, precise terms of art, objective analysis, and the Socratic Method, all may cut them off from those outside law school. And, we are set against our new peers as well. On my first day I was told, “Look to your left, look to your right, one of you will not be here next year.” Most students believe they are fighting for their place directly against the peers sitting beside them. The competitive environment of law school tends to pit each student against all others and, not surprisingly, feelings of isolation, suspicion, and hostility develop among students. 56 Legal education as it is currently configured tends to

encourage the development of competitive relationships among law students, instead of collaborative, supportive connections. 57 It is not a great place for building trusted friendships And as to relationships with professors? Law professors and law students, like others who stand in a relationship of inalterable superiority and subordination can hardly deal with each other as joint participants in community. Their affection for each other across 53 55 Krieger, id. [Need to Know] See also, Craig Nakken, The Addictive Personality, 16, 55 (2d ed 1996) Krieger, id. [Need to Know] Douglas A. Henderson, Uncivil Procedure: Ranking Law Students Among Their Peers, 27 U Mich JL Ref. 399, 427 (1994) See also, Suzanne C Segerstrom, Perceptions of Stress and Control in the First Semester of Law School 32 Willamette L. Rev 593 (1996) Barry B Boyer & Roger C Cramton, American Legal Education: An Agenda for Research and Reform, 59 Cornell L. Rev 221, 264 (1974) 57 Daikoff, [Spots] supra note

28 at 572-573. See, eg, Am B Assn, The Report of at the Breaking Point: A National Conference of the Emerging Crisis in the Quality of Lawyers’ Health and Lives – Its Impact on Law Firms and Client Services at 27.(Apr 5-6, 1991) 56 Source: http://www.doksinet 11 hierarchical lines will be marred by condescension or pity on the part of the superior and self- abasement or shameful yearning on the part of the underling. It can escape these flaws only by an extraordinary effort of transcendence over loveless circumstance. 58 The great bulk of law students state there was no professor in the law school who was taking a special interest in their academic progress (84%), or to whom they could turn to for advice on personal matters (71%). 59 At the same time, the transition through law school to practice also can be an intense personal transformation. Law students often put off major life commitments such as marriage and children. They may have also postponed developing personal

interests such as hobbies or favorite pastimes. Meanwhile, other people in their age group may have developed full and well-rounded personal lives -- they can even go to a party and have more to talk about than their work. For the young lawyer, that disparity can lead to a gnawing pressure to define oneself, to get a life. 60 Ones connections in the greater world involve integrated relationships between ones intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions, however, students report that law schools intellectual emphasis causes them to learn to suppress their feelings and come to care less about others. 61 The Disconnect Between Legal Academic Theory and Legal Practice: Many respected law schools have struggled with the sometimes conflicted mission of supporting faculty in their role as academics and their role as teacher and trainer of lawyers. Many such schools have identified themselves as supporting academics first and foremost as that provides visibility and

professional acclaim to their institutions. We reflect what has been charitably called a growing orientation toward academic theory. At the most prestigious law schools, professors are less and less hired for their experience or knowledge as practitioners. 62 Such a theoretical orientation has caused many to inveigh against law schools lack of emphasis on the actual practice of law. 63 It has been said, “Professors are the high priests of the academy, enjoying enviable prestige, power, and financial remuneration. It is apparent, however, that so many of us 58 John W. Teeter, Jr, The Daishonin’s Path: Applying Nichiren’s Buddhist Principles to American Legal Education, 30 McGeorge L. Rev, 271, 277 (1999) 59 Bridget A. Maloney, Distress Among the Legal Profession: What Law Schools Can Do About It, 15 Notre Dame J.L, Ethics & Pub Pol’y 307, 315 (2001) Citing CA Auerbach, Legal Education and Some of Its Discontents, 34 J. Legal Educ 43, 57 (1984) 60 Edelstein, supra note 6 at

26. Iijima supra note 44 at 529. See also, Lani Guinier et al, Becoming Gentlemen: Womens Experiences at One Ivy League Law School, 143 U. Pa L Rev 1, 49-50 (1994) 62 Alex M. Johnson, Jr, Think Like a Lawyer, Work Like a Machine: the Dissonance Between Law School and Law Practice, 64 S. Cal L Rev 1231, 1238 (1991) 63 Id. at 1238 See Pye, Legal Education in an Era of Change: The Challenge, 1987 Duke LJ 191, 198-99 (1987). 61 Source: http://www.doksinet 12 are fallen priests, going through the motions of performing sacraments in which we no longer believe. As Roberto Unger illustrates, professors can resemble "a priesthood that had lost their faith and kept their jobs" while standing "in tedious embarrassment before cold altars." 64 Many of these excellent academics and theoreticians are cynical about the practice of law generally and convey that sense to the students. This cynicism is often transmitted to students and can feed the collapse of professionalism that

is currently developing in practice. 65 Almost concomitantly, however, the practice of law has marched in a totally different direction -- toward commercialization. It is surprising how little information about the legal profession is accessible to our students. The law is without question an extraordinarily demanding profession, and few students are prepared for the endless stress and repeated assaults on their self-esteem. As one lawyer cautions, "Law students cannot imagine the meat grinder that awaits them in the adversary process. Many young lawyers are shocked, offended, and profoundly bruised by it. The deterioration of professional courtesy, professional integrity, and professional competence generated by todays Rambo adversary process is causing wide-spread alarm." 66 This raises a larger and more important point: Why do we in legal education ignore the practice of law and the legal profession? 67 Why are there not more courses, articles, and empirical studies about

the legal profession? The dissemination of such information would help prepare our students for the practice of law. Courageous Contemplation and Conversation: The questions abound. What do we do in the face of our uncertainty, insecurity and helplessness? We should seek the wisdom of our community. Open discussion of important information does not require great cost, further, it is not necessary to have answers before we raise the questions and encourage faculty to think about them collectively. We should begin this inquiry into whether there is something that we have a responsibility, or an opportunity, to improve without sacrificing our other worthy goals. How do we move past our own fear of what we might discover? How can we even look? Once we even contemplate the possibility of a dilemma, is there really a problem? Can the data be dismissed as not representative of the larger law school/lawyering experience? Is taking action in conflict with our educational goals? Would we create

less successful lawyers and hurt our institution’s reputation? Even if the data are reflective of a real experience, are we the causation? Is it our responsibility to act? And is it our place to take a role -- or like sex-education, is support of the 64 Teeter, supra note 58 at 273. Johnson, supra note 62 at 1239. 66 Teeter, supra note 58 at 287. 67 Johnson, supra note 62 at 1233. 65 Source: http://www.doksinet 13 person’s emotional life better handled “at home”? Do we have any power to impact the situation? What form or direction would our action take? Do we lack the expertise? How do we, the rational-intellectual cream-of-the-lawyers, move into a world that involves feelings and values -- for ourselves, and more importantly, into the hearts of other, live, warm-blooded, emotional beings? How do we know what to do with a student who feels sad or like she might be drinking too much? Would we still be good teachers under this new model – would we succeed if we were asked

to feed their emotional lives as well as their intellectual ones? Do we have the resources both financially and competence-wise to address the issues? By merely beginning the conversation we have begun a shift to being more compassionate teachers. We are competent enough to consider the issues If we choose to undertake an informed analysis, we could: Become Informed: Read the literature documenting the deleterious effects that law school has on many law students. We should read it all again and share it with others We should ask ourselves what could be causing such high levels of distress, and we should keep asking ourselves until we think that we have some answers. All of us should search our hearts to see if we personally are contributing to those problems, and to consider how we could alleviate the adverse consequences of our own actions in pedagogically sound ways. 68 We should demonstrate compassion and respect for students in their position, whether we choose to modify their

circumstances or not. Manage Our Own Distress: The discussion of the students distress itself might have to begin with a stress reducing session for the faculty and administrators involved. Most people cannot see where they are resistant to contemplation because of their own grief or insecurity. From our cloudy view, how do we ask if it is them or us? Do we reject the statistical reports because they have flaws in there analysis, or do we reject the statistics because we can’t bear the thought that the palpable change we see in our students -- from excited, proud and enthusiastic upon entry, to frustrated, insecure, demoralized “partiers” -- might have something to do with us, even though we meant no harm? By first acting within our own sphere of control, by openly raising these issues with colleagues, psychological experts, lay people and students we will help reduce resistance to exploring the possibilities and making recommendations that serve the best interest of the

profession and the individual – whether that final conclusion is, leave it the way it is or whether our inquiry requires that we make some adjustments in serving the interpersonal interest of the students as well as the intellectual ones. 68 Robert P. Schuwerk, The Law Professor As Fiduciary: What Duties Do We Owe To Our Students, p58 Submitted for publication, copy on file with the author. Source: http://www.doksinet 14 Reduce Conflict Between the Goals: It seems likely that we can add to the students experience some of the things that will support them as people -- not just as intellectual minds -- without taking away other experiences that support their professional competence. That issue may be primarily one of resources; I will leave that cost-benefit analysis for the final purview of our administrators. However, supporting the students connection to colleagues, family, health and clear information does not have to be in conflict with the goals of supporting their rational

and logical problem solving abilities. Exhibiting a concern for the whole student, not just their brain and their career potential, does not have to reduce their lawyerly competence. Better Inform Students who Might Negatively Self Select: The data do not seem to suggest that students who harbor a greater degree of latent insecurity are drawn to law school in particular. In fact, compared to most higher education programs law students come from a much wider and more diverse variety of educational disciplines and backgrounds. Research suggests that the students are fine before they begin their law studies. However, the diversity and the general lack of specific preparation for the study (and practice) of law could contribute to their distress. Few undergraduate experiences match the rigor, intensity and competitiveness of law school, even few graduate programs do. The law schools--and the bar--might effectively reduce some of the incidence of law student distress by engaging in a

systematic effort to improve both the quantity and quality of information provided to potential law students about the nature and demands of law school and about the various careers for which legal education is essential or useful. If law schools were to make even more "consumer disclosures" and if law schools were to even better educate potential law students about the profession, some people who would be quite unhappy in law school could make more informed choices and would not simply drift into law school. Simultaneously, other people would choose law school on the basis of better information and thus would begin the process of life-long education with a greater sense of confidence and commitment. 69 To continue to inform law students by including more information, courses and practical experiences of what law practice itself is like would make their transition from student to law student to lawyer less stressful as well. 69 Peter G. Glenn, Some Thoughts About Developing

Constructive Approaches to Lawyer and Law Student Distress, 10 J.L & Health 69, 75 (1996) Source: http://www.doksinet 15 Value Talents Beyond Good Grades: We could spend more time encouraging student achievement by balancing their academics with respect for personal wellness and with the sense that many other factors contribute to their success in life besides their grades. Demonstrating genuine respect for a student’s many diverse talents -- effective communication, trustworthiness, diligence, honor, etc. will be perceived as a recognition that these other elements carry worth, too Good grades do have an impact on law students lives and future careers, especially as law school costs rise, leaving the students with huge debts and fewer job choices, or with the need for achievement based scholarships to help alleviate their financial burdens. Law students almost certainly recognize mid-way through their law school careers, that the real earning capacity of most young lawyers

is not sufficient to comfortably support large loan payments. Such students understandably might be demoralized and discouraged 70 Balancing their desire for economic improvement with other elements that make the profession of law satisfying will mitigate the “costs” of their choice. In the larger view of their lives a meaningful career in the law comes from many aspects in addition to good grades. Reminding law students that after they pass the bar their GPA fades in relevance, and relationships with colleagues, mentors, family and their institution can greatly advance their careers as well. In addition, minimizing the sense that a particular grade on a particular day in a particular subject somehow is a reflection of them as a person will help. In other areas of life we usually realize that our performance varies, there are good days and bad days, good games and bad games, good paintings and bad paintings, and that these variations are not a reflection of their value as people.

People are not measured by the bad days alone, but by the tapestry of the life that they weave. Creating a balanced life that includes achievement in school as well as many other relationships and experiences can ameliorate the variability of grades as a measure of self. The point is not that concern with human aspirations and values should replace technical mastery and analytic rigor. What is needed is a way of bringing together mastery with aspiration, intellect with experience, rigor with value, pragmatism with idealism, competence and skill with caring and a sense of meaning. 71 70 Id. at 76 Leonard L. Riskin, The Contemplative Lawyer: On The Potential Contributions Of Mindfulness Meditation To Law Students, Lawyers, And Their Clients. 7 Harv Negotiation L Rev 1, 21 (2002) See also, Elizabeth Dvorkin et al., Becoming a Lawyer: A Humanistic Perspective on Legal Education and Lawyering 3 (1981). 71 Source: http://www.doksinet 16 Trust in and Increase our Competence as Mentors:

Is this a job for us, isn’t there someone else more suitable to the task of their personal development? Certainly there are emotional crises that require the intervention of professional assistance. Many law schools have access to this professional help through their student health/mental health services. However, we might consider the support we’re contemplating as something more in the line of a cultural change. How do we create a culture -- as defined by the elders (faculty and administration) -- that shows the values that we hope our students will adopt – self esteem, professionalism, connection to others, and balance in mind, body and spirit? Changing a culture involves community-wide adaptation of practical, consistent behavior at all levels. In truth, the faculty-friend may be better qualified than the professional counselor to deal with the student. He knows the law school environment better and may be able to target remedial action more effectively. Furthermore, awaiting

the investigation by a state bar, the student may refuse to accept professional help, and the faculty-friend may be confronted with a situation in which he either helps or the student will receive no guidance at all. 72 By creating an environment that acknowledges the rational-biased orientation of the law and the stresses of the legal profession we could begin to help them prepare for the necessity of developing other outlets to create a balanced life. Evidencing concern for both their professional and personal well being is a simple and natural start. As teachers we should be able to trust that this caring is not beyond our expertise. And while we are suggesting that they create a life outside the law, we could demonstrate how that’s done by getting connected ourselves. We can continue to get familiar with the evidence that suggests that our students are suffering and let that matter to us. We can take an interest in them as people larger than students of law, openly discussing

with them the pressures of law school and suggesting coping resources, be it professional counseling or a walk in the park. We should trust that we have the competence to reach out to the pained and confused and offer a hand. And we should support their connection to their institution and the larger world as well, to both demonstrate the realities of the practicing lawyer and to develop their support system as lawyers themselves. A connection with their institution and the support it can provide will cause them to be more supportive of graduates coming along behind them, more likely to provide of financial and practical contributions to the school, and more willing to promote the school as a place future law students might want to consider attending. Law schools should actively seek to involve judges and members of the practicing bar with established reputations for a high level of competence and integrity in their schools’ educational efforts and draw them into relationships with

their students. 72 Teeter, supra note 58 at 278. Citing Phyllis W Beck & David Burns, Anxiety and Depression in Law Students: Cognitive Intervention, 30 J. Legal Educ 270, 270 (1979) Source: http://www.doksinet 17 It is said that many law professors do not like practicing lawyers, and consistently denigrate them to their students. Law students come to the conclusion that their professors neither like nor respect them, a conclusion that too few of us realize follows logically from our condemnation of the profession and those who choose to practice it. Indeed, if the truth be told, all too often students are right to come to that conclusion. 73 So where can we find our ability to support our students? We can find it in their need and in our ability to express concern for any person, the same concern we show for our children, our nieces, our friends, our own mentors we can share with our students and hope they will share it with others. Inspire Professionalism: Although we teach

professional responsibility in the usual format of an exposure and recitation of the rules of professional responsibility, it is more likely that attorneys violate their professional commitments less from a lack of some cognitive or informational deficiency and more because of mental or emotional difficulties. Substance abuse or rampant excesses of the “lawyering skills” that every law student manages to acquire -rationalization and denial -- can leave them either unable to discern their true ethical situation or unable to conform their conduct to known standards of professional behavior. 74 Self awareness and compassionate empathy are foundational for life satisfaction and critical to the consistent ability to adhere to the ideals of the rules of professional responsibility. Improvement of the profession requires that law students and lawyers seek ways to strengthen these faculties within themselves. Learning about their own motivations and stressors and coming in contact with

others who have struggled through the challenges and come out with their self-respect intact can create the understanding that will help these future lawyers recognize and withstand the pressures they surely will face. As part of our increasing focus on the profession, law teachers, bar leaders, and senior attorneys have a special responsibility to find ways to encourage and assist others in this regard. 75 73 Schuwerk supra note 68 at 30. 75 Kreiger, [Need to Know] note 32 at 17. Source: http://www.doksinet 18 Encourage Intrinsic and Extrinsic Balance: Studies show that when one experiences internal satisfaction such as a sense of selfesteem, relatedness, authenticity, or competence, she experiences increased satisfaction, well-being, and vitality, while a lack of such experiences will produce loss of vitality, depressed mood, and decreased well- being. The findings also indicate that a sense of security is a prerequisite for fulfillment of the other needs. The achievement of

financial affluence, influence, and the like are not human needs, do not produce a meaningful level of satisfaction in people, and in fact are often negatively correlated with well- being. 76 Connection with your place in the wider world, a reminder of the beyond-the-law aspects of a full life and motivations created by knowledge of one’s own priorities and values promote balance and satisfaction. Many law students enter law school with ideals that suggest that they care about their fellow man, want to have a positive impact on the rules of their culture and believe that they have an understanding and an ethical stance that can make that possible. We need to encourage and remind them that despite the high financial cost of this education and the persistent adversarial stance of the system there are still meaningful ways to contribute to a larger good -- beyond just winning even the dirtiest cases or driving the fanciest car. If they already hold an extrinsically based value system,

we are unlikely to have much power to change that, but for the student who do still care and hope we need to be attentive that our attitude and skepticism doesn’t crush that. We need to believe and provide evidence that practicing lawyers are making a positive difference in our culture that they are supporting the weak and legislating equity. We can do that by participating ourselves in that goal. We can evidence honor, compassion and fairness, not just demonstrate the relentlessness of Socratic grinding. One professor I know brags about making at least one person cry every semester, maybe we could work to make one person feel competent as well. Encourage Balance: Conversations or even facilities that provide an opportunity for students to exercise to relieve stress or get out of their mind would be a simple and inexpensive step. A study at Duke University Medical Center showed that exercise could be the key to long-term relief from depression. 77 A Wednesday afternoon walk with the

Contract’s professor -- a question and answer session on the way around the park -- could help students develop a closer relationship with their professors as people and let them come in contact with their body as well. General information about the needs or benefit of exercise upon learning, retention and health could be made available to students, and staff, alike. On our campus, 76 Krieger, [Why Suffer] supra note 40 at 262 (2002). Citing Sheldon et al, supra note 42 Danielle C. Istl, The Law School Experience: Staying Grounded and Enjoying the Journey, 80 U Det Mercy L. Rev 485, 492 (2003) See also, Duke University Medical School, Long-term Benefits of Exercise, http:// dukemednews.dukeedu/news/medminutephp (Jan 12, 2001) See also, Iijima supra note 44 at 529-30. 77 Source: http://www.doksinet 19 during the lovely California spring, the staff sets up a volleyball court on the grassy quad and students play. Activities that involve the support and reliance on classmates and

the ability to interact with them in another way beside intellectual adversary can be the foothold for the development of professional respect and long lasting ties. Yale and Columbia law students have attended meditation retreats designed for them, 78 and students at seven other law schools--Denver, Hastings, Miami, Missouri-Columbia, North Carolina, Stanford, and Suffolk--have taken mindfulness meditation instruction on campus, sometimes as part of law school courses. 79 Self reflection, in the form of meditation or other spiritual practices can encourage students to reflect on their own sources of spiritual sustenance and examine the contributions they can make toward deepening the relevance, meaning, and joy of their legal education and professional development. 80 A lack of balance between personal and professional aspects of life, often lead to unhealthy levels of stress, and also to experiences of isolation, emptiness, and absence of meaning, and to the rendering of inadequate

or inappropriate services. 81 Build Community: Simple things can create a connection with the larger world. Law schools can foster, or at least not stand in the way of, an understanding that there is more that is important in the creation of a lawyer than simply performance. Encouraging connection to activities and people outside of the limited focus of the school can give students perspective on the larger picture. An assignment at the beginning of law school that asks every student to collect a letter written to them (by someone they trust enough to ask) telling the student about how the writer is supporting the students efforts, demonstrates their respect and affection, etc. and would be an easy way to help the student be reminded of their value in the larger world. If a student reported that they felt awkward about asking for such support -- or didn’t have someone they could ask – that would be helpful notice to the school about a risk factor in a student. That student could

be placed in position to receive a letter from someone on the school’s staff or in the community that would encourage them during their transition time. The students then would have a memento of tangible support from their network. Some of the more willing and supportive family and friends of students could be asked to write a letter to the student’s whole class, treating them as an interwoven community, wishing them good thoughts and support. The administration and faculty could also 78 Riskin, supra note 71 at 3. Id. 80 Teeter, supra note 58 at 273. 81 Riskin, supra note 71 at 8. 79 Source: http://www.doksinet 20 solicit alums and members of the local bar to write such letters. These letters of connection and encouragement could be circulated and displayed, printed in a school newsletter or posted in the halls or on the outside of cubicles. Law schools could be better at including the family of the student, to allow them to see and understand what their student is going

through. More occasions or classes where the spouses, parents, or maybe even children of our students could meet teachers, read assignments or see their student in action in the classroom could help bridge the gap of aloneness and secrecy that students experience vis-à-vis their family. The process of law school could be better understood by people dealing with the student and the family could provide a mirroring reminder that law school is not what it is all about. The school could support a “six degrees of separation” program, encouraging other students to get a letter to someone they know in each student’s town/(hometown). An effort could be made to see how many steps it takes to get connected, to see who knows the most people in common or who has contacts the furthest away. This can help the school identify and support people with weak networks, and help all students feel like they have connections and resources they could contact when they are building their professional

network. The school might even support the giving of a plane ticket (continental US/weekend) once a semester for a student to fly out to hang out for three days with someone who makes them feel relaxed/like their old self or fly a friend/parent in to see their student -- their new digs, their new friends -- to strengthen the network. The school could support the creation of a forum for communication among their community – between the goals and concerns of the administration, the faculty, the student and their families about our mission here, together. Beginning this conversation itself opens the doors for a deeper sense of the shared concerns of our community. If these heartfelt concerns are instead placed on a “banned topics” list, whatever communication that does occur will be conducted at a superficial level and involve only superficial topics, this leads to the feeling of isolation expressed by many in the law. To see this, one need only consider the elements of the

think-like-a-lawyer “skill” and reflect on how they would apply to a close interpersonal relationship in a moment of discord: (1) defend your own position with tenacity; (2) concede nothing to your “opponent’s” position; (3) declare that any “feelings” that your “opponent” might have about the situation are “irrelevant” or “unimportant;” (4) find fault and assign blame for the controversy to your “opponent;” and (5) assess an appropriate punishment for your “opponent” due to his or her misdeeds. A more destructive course of conduct for resolution of interpersonal conflicts between intimates is, of course, difficult to envision. 82 Finally, we might heed the suggestion of Lawrence Fox, one of the most thoughtful leaders of the bar, that we adopt as one of our primary values the idea that we should "take care of each other" not only by means of formal lawyer assistance programs but, more importantly, in our day-to-day interactions with

colleagues and even with our 82 Schuwerk note 68 at 48. Source: http://www.doksinet 21 opponents. 83 Supporting community with peers, faculty, administration, institution, family, friends and the profession gives the student the opportunity to find value in himself and in others that can protect him from isolation, fear, hopelessness and misjudgment. Conclusion: It seems that it could not be wrong, or a waste, to exhibit concern for our students on a broader level than just their intellectual development. It might be too costly, I’ll leave that discussion for each of you; however, it seems clear that encouraging exercise and connection is better than dismissing it. It seems clear that it is better to involve the student’s support system -- family, friends, mentors, colleagues -- in the furtherance of their educational goals. It seems clearly better to let them release their insecurity and experience success, somewhere in the law-school process. Even if we didn’t soften one

thing about a traditional Kingsfield approach to our substantive law classes would demonstrating our concern and respect make our students more soft, less ready for the demands of practice, less competent lawyers? Could we include more of the total being in the law school experience? Should we? If we did, would it make any positive difference? These are the questions we need to ask, to consider and to share, before we march forward in the dark. 83 Glenn, supra note 69 at 73. Citing Lawrence J Fox, 1995-96 Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, articulating this idea in an unpublished talk to the Class of 1996 of the Dickinson School of Law at the Schools Second Annual Senior Speakers Dinner in April 1996