National Jurist - February 2009 - (Page 33)

ED ents? stud e law ar BY KAREN DYBIS fessional life. Additionally, practicing lawyers experience mental health issues at a rate that is 8 to 15 times higher than that of the general population. Of 104 occupational groups, lawyers ranked highest in numbers of professionals managing depression, the ABA reported. Studies also have shown that the best way to combat the stress-related mental health problems attorneys face is to address them as early as law school. Legal-education experts say law students need remember the words of ancient scholars: To thine own self be true. That means taking time to socialize, eat well and exercise. It also means finding a balance between who you are as a lawyer and who you are as a person. Whether law students can ever find balance during those “three years in hell,” according to one infamous blog title, remains debatable. The benefit of finding such a balance is considerable – not only will students feel better, but chances are more of them will learn more, pass the Bar exam and become the attorneys they were meant to be. “Students walking into law school are a fine, healthy, well-adjusted, intrinsically motivated group,” said Lawrence Krieger, a professor at Florida State University’s College of Law. “And then things change over the period of three years. Many become discouraged. They may not be clinically depressed, but they feel kind of dumpy.” But there is nothing wrong with not feeling good. “It’s just that the way we train people in law school and the way we tend to judge people’s work has these effects on people,” February 2009 THE NATIONAL JURIST 33 The three years of law school can be grueling. But experts generally agree on one thing — students and law schools need to do a better job of teaching students how to separate themselves from the experience in order to truly enjoy it. Katie Anger was packed and ready to tackle Ann Arbor, where she planned to study law at the University of Michigan, arguably one of the nation’s best places to receive a legal education. Then that life-changing letter arrived. It came from a little school down the road — Detroit-based Wayne State University — which offered Anger a full scholarship. But it also offered her something more: a chance to have a life while in law school. These days, the second-year law student studies hard during the week, enjoys free time with her fiancée and family on the weekend and occasionally cooks a meal or two. “After a lot of thought, I decided that I could still get where I wanted to go with a law degree from Wayne State,” Anger said. “While it is nice to have a big-name school behind your name, I think law school is what you make of it.” Research shows that most law students feel law school severely affects their sense of balance. They put in grueling hours studying, eat far too much take-out food, rarely see friends or loved ones and try to ease the strain with caffeine, alcohol and other negative influences. Are you feeling out of balance? If so, find out some ways to get out of your rut, and how law schools are better preparing students to handle those three important years. Krieger said. “It’s unfortunate and I always apologize to students. It’s not your fault; it’s law school’s fault. We just haven’t learned better ways of doing it.” Krieger has made it his life’s work to study the effects of law school on students. He says the impact is both devastating and largely avoidable. “What I find is students living otherwise balanced lives may struggle with the law school experience and their own sense of belonging, self-confidence and self-worth,” Krieger said. “Most research confirms it — students don’t tend to thrive in law school.” Krieger noted that appearances are deceiving — students that seem welladjusted on the outside may be suffering internally. Feeling out of balance is a symptom of what may well be a larger problem. Krieger said he prefers to use the term “thriving” to describe a well-balanced student. The term refers to a person’s overall sense of well-being and having a larger purpose in life. The opposite is depression, or a feeling that a person is underperforming and life is meaningless. “Research shows there is a lot we can do to help students find balance,” Krieger said. “Institutions are changing slowly, but students can do a lot of it for themselves.” How to find balance The answer to finding balance is complicated, but some students say it can be achieved. The first step is buffering oneself from some of law school’s more demeaning or detrimental impacts. Initially, Krieger said students may not notice the impact law school is having on their lives. To become attorneys, students must become experts in legal analysis. Values and emotions do not play into this Feeling out of balance According to statistics from the American Bar Association, between 20 to 40 percent of law students suffer from clinical depression at one time or another. The problem, if not addressed during law school, can linger well into a lawyer’s pro-

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of National Jurist - February 2009

National Jurist - February 2009 Contents Entertainment: Get Organized! The Firm Report: The Part-Time Lawyer News: Keeping Ethics Intact, New Law Deans, Latest Survey Findings Seattle Law Students Secure Asylum for East African Women Laptops in the Classroom Attorneys Dissect Health Law Law Students Contribute to 2008 Election Process Remembering Professors Obama and Biden Bar Exam Diaries How Well Balanced are Law Students? How to Choose a Summer Program Career Hotline Linguistic Gymnastics Disturbing the Peace

National Jurist - February 2009

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