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The New Jersey Supreme Court formed a special committee that will develop a series of recommendations to help support the mental health of attorneys, judges and other members of the legal community.

Chaired by Justice Lee Solomon, the broad-based group will examine specific risks faced by all law professionals and resources available for dealing with heightened rates of mental health challenges, substance abuse and self-harm so that it can identify strategies to address unmet mental health needs.

During a May 2 event on attorney wellness held at the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner announced the initiative, saying, “Today marks the beginning of an important conversation designed to raise awareness of the many issues facing law students, paralegals, attorneys and judges.”

The Committee on Wellness in the Law “will work to develop a comprehensive understanding of both the challenges faced by members of the legal community and the resources available to deal with those challenges, so that we can learn how to take better care of ourselves and one another,” he said.

It will also analyze obstacles confronted by law practitioners of color and other historically marginalized and underrepresented communities as well as the risks that disproportionately affect solo and small firm practitioners.

The membership will include Administrative Director of the Courts Glenn Grant and Monmouth Vicinage Assignment Judge Lisa Thornton, along with support from the Attorney General’s Office, the Office of the Public Defender and legal associations such as the New Jersey State Bar Association, according to the court.

The committee reportedly stems from a recommendation made in a recently released paper by the New Jersey State Bar Association on improving attorney well-being.

The March 2023 study showed that attorneys in the Garden State suffer burnout, depression, suicidal thoughts, substance use disorders and anxiety at significantly higher rates than the general working population.

Of the 1,643 lawyers who responded to the November 2022 survey, 51% said they “feel enthusiastic” about their profession “often, very often or always.”

However, the questionnaire also showed:

• 68% reported feeling anxious in the past two weeks
• 56% reported a high prevalence of alcohol misuse
• 49% reported moderate to high levels of burnout, with attorneys between the ages of 35 and 50 significantly more likely to report burnout than those over 65
• 23% said they have high levels of depression symptoms
• 49% admitted to feelings of isolation
• 28% said they are looking to leave the legal profession due to mental health, burnout and stress
• 10% reported suicidal thoughts
• 39% said they feel uncomfortable taking time off and reported long working hours, including weekends, and an expectation that they must be available outside of regular hours

Research by bar associations in California, Massachusetts, New York and the District of Columbia has reached similar conclusions over the past few years.

NJSBA president Jeralyn Lawrence called the survey results “astonishing, scary and sad.”

In the report, she said, “Ours is a hard and demanding profession. We have all read the statistics about the incredible number of attorneys who are depressed and anxious and too many of us have friends and colleagues who face these very real challenges every day. While we are all aware of the national headlines of the decline in attorney’s health and well-being, our investigation has confirmed that New Jersey lawyers are also suffering. We are a profession in crisis … and the alarm bells are sounding.”