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VOL. 80 PART 5 SEPTEMBER 2022
cent) than more senior lawyers (36.7 per cent). The same study found that
22.4 per cent of lawyers practising for ten years or less were affected by
“burnout”, described as a “state of fatigue and physical, emotional and mental
exhaustion” in the personal, organizational and relationship spheres.
The COVID-19 pandemic has unquestionably had a serious impact on
most Canadians. An early survey referenced by the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health (“CAMH”) (in “Mental Health in Canada: COVID-19 and
Beyond”) indicated that fifty per cent of Canadians reported worsening mental
health due to the pandemic, citing worry and anxiety.8 One in ten said
their mental health had deteriorated “a lot”. Related studies found that twentyfive
per cent of Canadians in the 35–54 age bracket and twenty-one per cent
of those in the 18–34 age bracket had increased their alcohol consumption
during the pandemic.9 More recent surveys reveal similar concerns.10
The Law Society of Ontario’s Mental Health Strategy Task Force reported
an evidentiary basis for its conclusion that “legal professionals may be at an
even higher risk than the general population of experiencing career and life
challenges and struggles with mental illness and addictions”.11 Most concerning
is its commentary on the negative impacts of stigma in our profession:
The culture of and stressors on the legal professions raise barriers to
openly addressing these issues for those who may be affected by them
and those with whom they work and interact. The stigma surrounding
mental illness and addictions, the too common confusion of diagnosis
with impairment and the concerns that careers will be permanently and
negatively affected by disclosure have a particular impact on licensees’
willingness to reveal such illness or addictions.12
Stigma associated with mental health is a major reason why people do
not seek help for it. In a survey of working Canadians in 2019, seventy-five
per cent of the respondents said that they would be reluctant, or would
refuse, to disclose a mental illness to an employer or a co-worker, largely
because of the stigma associated with mental illness and being afraid of the
consequences, including being treated differently or losing their job.13
Of particular concern is the fact that lawyers appear reluctant to take
advantage of mental health resources, such as the Law Society of Ontario’s
Member Assistance Program. Statistics published by LAWPRO Magazine
suggest that legal professionals in Ontario seek mental health assistance at
a rate that is approximately half that of other professions.14
The lesson from these numbers is that the mental health and well-being
of the legal profession is a serious institutional issue.
MENTAL HEALTH AND LITIGATION
Let’s face it: law is a stressful profession. If you are reading this article, you