Virginia to join national lawyer well-being survey

The Virginia State Bar Executive Committee has approved the commonwealth’s participation in a national research project on lawyer mental health and well-being.

The project will provide a 10-year update to and build off of the 2016 American Bar Association study “The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys.” The study was seen as a landmark study in attorney well-being and found that attorneys experience significant mental health distress and experience “problematic drinking… at a higher rate than other professional populations.”

According to the VSB, approximately 30,000 VSB active members will be randomly selected to receive an email through the VSB inviting them to participate in the survey. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and raw data will not be shared with the VSB or the Supreme Court of Virginia.

The survey responses will remain anonymous and will go directly to the University of Minnesota, which is tasked with the confidentiality of the data.

The survey will investigate risk factors for mental health and substance use concerns, cultural and workplace risk factors and mental health and well-being protection.

Questions about the survey can be directed to Dr. Justin Anker, principal investigator, at [email protected].