Why Do So Many Attorneys Struggle With Substance Abuse?

After nearly 40 years of working with recovering people, I can tell you that attorneys are extremely ‘at-risk’ for addiction. It’s not because lawyers are weak or lack discipline, but the nature of the profession attracts those who have addictive tendencies and then several things about the profession encourages binge-drinking.

A study by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American Bar Association found that 21% of licensed, employed attorneys qualify as problem drinkers. That's nearly one in five. Beyond substance misuse, lawyers suffer from co-occurring disorders at a high rate: Depression rates among lawyers are 3.6 times higher than the general population. Anxiety affects 19% of attorneys. These statistics indicate a systemic issue.

Here are some of the reasons that I think lawyers are vulnerable to binge alcohol (and drug) use.

The Billable Hours Trap

The practice of judging attorneys based on how many hours they have delivered has created a culture where young associates are pressured into an unhealthy work-life balance for the first several years. Sixty to eighty-hour weeks are not uncommon for new associates.

This schedule is unhealthy and unsustainable. Proper sleep becomes a luxury they can't afford. Exercise disappears. Healthy meals give way to whatever's fastest. And when you're exhausted but facing another all-nighter to meet a filing deadline, substances become tools. A few drinks to turn your mind off at 11 PM so you can sleep for four hours. Stimulants can help you push through the next day. Like almost everyone who slips into an addiction, the pattern establishes itself before you realize it's happening.

Living in Constant Combat

Most people don't understand that legal work is adversarial by design. Your job is to fight. To find weaknesses in the other side's arguments. To protect your client against threats, whether real or potential. Every brief is a battle. Every deposition is a confrontation.

The hypervigilance bleeds into your personal life and takes a psychological toll over time. In a way that is eerily similar to the veterans we treat who have PTSD, attorneys often start seeing threats everywhere because their professional survival depends on anticipating them.

And of course, the stakes are real in your professional life, and they could be very high. Your clients' freedom or financial future might depend on your work. One missed detail, one weak argument, one bad day in court can destroy someone's life. That pressure doesn't go away when you leave the office.

Alcohol and other drugs offer temporary relief from that constant state of alert. They quiet the part of your brain that's always preparing for the next fight. For a few hours, you get to stop being a warrior.

The Stigma of Asking for Help

One of the most frustrating things is when I see attorneys trapped in problematic substance use because of fear of professional consequences, when there is no consequences if they proactively seek help before there has been personal or professional conduct.

Attorneys might worry about seeking drug treatment, and ask themselves questions like, “Will this show up in a background check? Will opposing counsel find out and use it against me in a case? Will my competition try to steal my clients with this information?  Will my partners see me as a liability?”

As addiction is a progressive disease that can be treated and managed, there is almost never any upside to delaying professional treatment for problematic substance use.

The Isolation Problem

Practicing law practice is isolating, even in large firms in major metropolitan cities. You're surrounded by people, but many of your colleagues are your competition.  

Long hours mean your relationships outside the office atrophy. You miss dinners with friends. You skip family events. Your social circle shrinks to other lawyers who are trapped in the same cycle. And those relationships are too often the kind where hard drinking is expected as a way to blow off steam.  

Get Help Before the Catastrophe

I've seen the pattern so many times where an attorney reaches out for help only after something catastrophic happens. A DUI. A bar complaint. A health crisis. A spouse leaving. By that point, the problem has been building for years.

But it doesn't have to be this way. The profession’s culture and approach to mental health need to change, and it has started to improve, but those changes will take time.

Addiction can accurately be described as a loss of choice to continue using a drug, but the choice to get help  before it costs you everything is always available. Attorneys should seek a  treatment program that understands the realities of legal practice. An evening intensive outpatient programs that works around your billable hours, like the program offered at the drug rehab I founded Confidential Recovery, would be compatible. Treatment for adults and professionals at a center like ours provides confidentiality that respects your professional identity.

At Confidential Recovery, we've worked with numerous attorneys who needed to address their substance use without pausing their their careers. The treatment approach recognizes that seeking help isn't weakness—it's smart risk management. It's protecting your most valuable asset, which is your ability to practice law effectively over the long term.

The legal profession's substance use crisis isn't going to resolve itself. But individual attorneys can make different choices. You can acknowledge that the system is broken without letting it break you.

If you're an attorney struggling with substance use, or if you're a partner watching someone on your team deteriorate, there are options that don't require blowing up a career. The first step is admitting that the way things are isn't sustainable. The second step is reaching out.

Your bar card is important. But your life is more important. And with the right approach, you don't have to sacrifice one to save the other.

Scott H. Silverman is an acclaimed author and  the Founder and CEO of Confidential Recovery, a San Diego outpatient substance abuse treatment center for attorneys and other professionals. With nearly 40 years of experience in addiction and recovery, Scott was honored by the City of San Diego with "Scott H. Silverman Day" in for his contributions to the field.