Bench & Bar

SEP 2014

The Bench & Bar magazine is published to provide members of the KBA with information that will increase their knowledge of the law, improve the practice of law, and assist in improving the quality of legal services for the citizenry.

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24 B&B; • 9.14 C O L U M N S From an early age, I was obsessed with stand-up comedy. The first summer my family had the Comedy Central channel, I filled a Mead Five Star notebook with notes taken while watching stand up. I wasn't the most popular kid in middle school. I was teased heavily in grade and middle school and it seemed that many of the comedians were too. 1 Bullying is an epidemic and I am proud of the YLD's commitment to empowering Kentucky's middle school students with tools to com- bat bullying through the BullyProof program. 2 I suffered from depres- sion at a young age. At times I still do. Watching or listening to stand- up comedy is still one of my go to escapes when those feelings of self-hatred and doubt set in. Like so many others, I was sad to hear of Robin Williams' suicide. To be honest, I wasn't Robin Williams' biggest fan. Two of my favorite co- medians (Chris Farley and Greg Gi- raldo), much younger than Williams, had already lost their lives to depression and substance abuse. Greg Giraldo was a Comedy Central regular and I loved his sharp wit and intelligence. Comedy was Giraldo's "Plan B." He had earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia and law degree from Harvard. 3 Prior to entering comedy full-time, Giraldo was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in their New York office. 4 I had admired the guts it took to walk away from one dream and pursue another - the road less traveled and whatnot. But to hear him describe it is much less roman- tic: But before I quit, I was dying. I mean, I couldn't do it. It wasn't like I was a functioning professional and I just made the choice to throw it all away to pursue this crazy dream. I was incapable of being a lawyer. It wasn't an option. I was going to stop being a lawyer whether I want- ed to or not. 5 In January of this year, CNN ran a story titled "Why are lawyers killing themselves?" 6 It began with the story of a Kentucky lawyer, Finis Price III, who had touched many lives before he jumped to his death in 2012. I had followed his blog at his website, www.TechnoEsq.com. I learned of his passing through the reports of other legal bloggers. 7 In the November 2012 issue of the Bench & Bar, then KBA President, Doug Myers, wrote a piece that drew national attention on the dire situation in Kentucky with lawyer suicides. 8 Between 2010 and Janu- ary 2014, at least 15 lawyers have committed suicide. 9 Kentucky is not alone; South Carolina experienced a rash of lawyer suicides prompting the forming of a task force to shine a light on issues of substance abuse, mental illness, and suicide within the legal profession. 10 According to a CDC study, the le- gal profession ranks fourth for its high rate of suicides, behind den- tists, pharmacists, and physicians. 11 Substance abuse among lawyers is twice that of the general popula- tion. 12 A Johns Hopkins University study of more than 100 occupa- tions found that lawyers lead the nation with the highest incidence of depression. 13 The depression starts early, with one study showing that before law school, law students were no more depressed than the general population; by graduation, about 40 percent of law students were clinically depressed. 14 Tyger Lathan, Psy. D. posits that the tendency towards perfectionism among lawyers may be a contribut- ing factor. 15 He writes, "While this characteristic is not unique to the legal profession – nor is it necessari- ly a bad thing – when rigidly ap- plied, it can be problematic. The propensity of many law students and attorneys to be perfectionistic can sometimes impede their ability to be flexible and accommodating, qualities that are important in so many non-legal domains." 16 Giraldo experienced great success as a comedian, but continued to suffer from depression. A year be- fore his 2010 prescription drug overdose, he openly discussed his depression in an interview with "Psychology Today": I'm constantly tortured by a sense of failure. I feel like quitting all the time. I feel like hiding in drugs or al- cohol. I feel like I've failed in terms of what my potential is. I don't think I've achieved my potential because I haven't worked that hard and I haven't found the right angles. . . . If I had only stayed focused, I would have been further along. It's this constant feeling of not having achieved enough. 17 I can relate to Giraldo's sense of failure. I think at times maybe we all can. During my own personal strug- gles, I have been fortunate to have a loving support system, full of loved ones willing to fight through my pride and resistance and ensure I received the help that I needed. If you are struggling with depres- sion and do not know where to turn, I would urge you to reach out to a friend or colleague, 18 contact the Kentucky Lawyers Assistance Program (KYLAP) at (502) 564-3795, visit their website (www.kylap.org), or call the National Suicide Preven- tion Lifeline at (800) 273-8255. I will close with a quote from anoth- er of my favorite comedians, Michael Ian Black. In the wake of Giraldo's suicide, Black posted a piece on his passing with a closing that has stuck with me since. It has helped me and I hope it will help others as well: The lesson I take away from it is one I hope I've been learning over the years: have gratitude for what you have and forgive yourself for what might have been. We are all failures in one way or another, but failure is more than the end of something. It is the opportunity to begin something else. Enjoy your successes, accept your failures. Move on from both. But keep mov- ing on. 19 1 Comedian Chris Rock often accred- its childhood bullying to his suc- cess. See Derrick Lane's recent article "Chris Rock: 'Bullying Made Me Who I Am'"(Feb. 11, 2014) available at www.bet.com/news/health/2014/02 /11/chris-rock-bullying-made-me- who-i-am.html and his recent ap- pearance on Jerry Seinfeld's web series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," titled "Kids Need Bully- ing" (2013) available at: comedi- ansincarsgettingcoffee.com/chris-ro ck-kids-need-bullying. 2 For more on the Bullyproof: Anti- Bullying Initiative visit the American Bar Associations www.american- bar.org/groups/young_lawyers/ini- tiatives/anti_bullying_initiative.html. 3 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Gi- raldo#Early_life. 4 Id. 5 Jay Dixit, "Greg Giraldo on Fail- ure," Psychology Today (May 13, 2009). Available at www.psycholo- gytoday.com/blog/brainstorm/2009 05/greg-giraldo-failure. 6 Rosa Flores and Rose Marie Arce, " Why are lawyers killing them- s elves?" CNN (January 20, 2014). A vailable at w ww.cnn.com/2014/01/19/us/lawye r -suicides/. 7 S ee e.g., Kevin O'Keefe, "Finis P rice: Our legal profession lost a g ood and decent guy" LexBlog C ommunity (Feb. 20, 2012). Avail- a ble at k evin.lexblog.com/2012/02/20/finis - price-our-legal-profession-lost-a- g ood-and-decent-guy/. 8 Doug Myers, "You are Your Brother's – and Sister's – Keeper," Kentucky Bar Association Bench & Bar (November 2012). Available at www.kybar.org/documents/bench- bar_searchable/benchbar_1112.pdf ; see Debra Cassens Weiss "State bar president calls recent lawyer suicides 'disproportionate' and 'dis- concerting'", ABA Journal (June 4, 2013). Available at www.abajour- nal.com/news/article/kentucky_bar_ president_calls_recent_lawyer_sui- cides_disproportionate/. 9 F lores, "Why are lawyers killing t hemselves?" see also Rob Stott, " State Bar Association Moves to A ddress Lawyer Suicides," Associa- t ions Now (June 7, 2013). Available at associationsnow.com/2013/06/ken- tucky-bar-association-moves-to-ad- dress-lawyer-suicide-rate/. 10 Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A., "The Lawyers' Epidemic: Depression, Suicide and Substance Abuse" (2010). Available at www.scbar.org/LinkClick.aspx?filet- icket=rZNzWAnfCR4%3D&tabid;=1 60. 11 Flores, "Why are lawyers killing themselves?" 12 Gallivan, White & Boyd, P.A., "The Lawyers' Epidemic: Depression, Suicide and Substance Abuse." 13 Tyger Latham, "The Depressed Lawyer" Psychology Today (May 2, 2011). Available at www.psycholo- gytoday.com/blog/therapy-mat- ters/201105/the-depressed-lawyer. 14 Debra Cassens Weiss, "'You are not alone': Law prof who considered suicide tells his story" ABA Journal (April 8, 2014). Available at www.abajournal.com/news/article/y ou_are_not_alone_law_prof_who_c onsidered_suicide_tells_his_story/. 15 Latham, "The Depressed Lawyer." 16 Id. 17 Dixit, "Greg Giraldo on Failure." 18 As former KBA President Doug Myers noted, lawyers "are very good at referring other troubled people for help. We need to do the same for ourselves." Myers, Bench & Bar (November 2012). 19 Available at www.michaelianblack.net/blog/201 0/09/greg-giraldo-.html. By: Brad Sayles, YLD Chair KEEP MOVING ON

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