Largest Ever Study of U.S. Lawyers Finds Nearly 1 in 2 Highly Burned Out, with Burnout Strongly Linked to Significant Rates of Mental Health Distress

Randomly sampled survey of nearly 37,000 lawyers across the country also finds overwhelming majority of lawyers want more done to address mental health and substance use in their profession. 

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A landmark new study of actively licensed lawyers—the largest ever conducted—finds that nearly half screened positive for high or very high work-related burnout, with burnout strongly linked to high rates of depression, anxiety, and stress. The research also shows that more than 40% of lawyers felt their time in the profession had been detrimental to their mental health, more than a quarter screened positive for higher-risk hazardous drinking, and more than 80% believe it is important for the profession to be doing more to address the situation.

The study, titled “When Demands Equal Distress: An Updated Understanding of Lawyer Mental Health and Well-being,” was recently published open access in the Journal of Affective Disorders, a leading peer-reviewed journal focused on a depression, anxiety, and related conditions.

The research was conducted through a partnership between Krill Strategies, a Pittsburgh-based behavioral health consulting firm for the legal profession, and the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs. The study provides a crucial 10-year update to the first national study of lawyer mental health while also offering the first large-scale estimate of work-related burnout among lawyers.

Researchers Patrick R. Krill, of Krill Strategies, and Justin J. Anker, Ph.D., from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical School surveyed a very large, random sample of practicing lawyers from twenty-eight participating jurisdictions that represented all four official U.S. Census Bureau-designated regions and all nine divisions within those regions. The resulting sample was then weighted to reflect the current demographic composition of the profession as reported in the American Bar Association’s 2024 National Lawyer Population Survey.

Key findings include:

• 21.6% screened positive for moderate-or-higher depression, 20.4% for anxiety, and 18.9% for stress.
• 47.4% reported high or very high work-related burnout—the first large-scale national estimate of its kind among lawyers.
• Higher burnout was strongly linked to greater likelihood of moderate-or-higher depression, anxiety, and stress.
• 26.4% screened positive for higher-risk hazardous drinking (41.8% met the standard clinical threshold).
• 30.8% reported encountering a legal professional in the past year whose well-being raised concerns about fitness to practice.
• 41.1% of lawyers reported that time in the legal profession has been detrimental to their mental health.
• 27% reported considering leaving the profession due to mental health, burnout or stress.
• Only 39.1% believed employers were doing enough to support lawyers’ mental health and well-being.
• Younger lawyers and those working the longest hours faced the highest risk.
• 81% of lawyers believe it is either very important (52.2%), or important (29%) for the profession to focus greater effort on reducing mental health and substance use problems among lawyers. An additional 15.7% believe it is somewhat important.

More details and reactions can be found in a separate announcement from the American Bar Association and a related summary of the research.