“When Demands Equal Distress”: ABA Report Confirms We Still Have (Lots of) Problems
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News and Articles
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By Leslie Hagin, President, Washington Lawyers Assisting Lawyers (WALAL)
New ABA Study Released
“When Demands Equal Distress: An Updated Understanding of Lawyer Mental Health and Well-Being.” That’s the title of a new ABA study released on September 10, 2026 concerning the general state of lawyer well-being.1
A large multi-jurisdictional convenience sample was weighted by researchers to reflect the current demographic well-being composition of the profession. The study surveyed roughly 37,000 actively licensed lawyers across 28 state bar association jurisdictions. [Data were weighted to reflect the profession’s demographic composition using ABA’s 2024 National Lawyer Population Survey.]
Findings
Among the findings are the following:
Burnout. Almost half of the lawyers surveyed (47.4%) screened positive for high burnout, including 15.6% who are meeting the threshold for moderate-to-severe burnout.
Attrition. 27% are considering leaving the profession due to mental health, burnout or stress.
Depression. Those surveyed reported experiencing depression at 32.7% with 21.7% meeting moderate-to-extremely severe symptom thresholds.
Anxiety. 26.9% reported experiencing anxiety with 20.4% meeting moderate-to-extremely severe symptom thresholds.
Stress. 30.2% reported experiencing stress with 18.9% meeting moderate-to-extremely severe symptom thresholds.
Hazardous Alcohol Use: 41.8% screened positive for risky drinking under standard clinical thresholds; 26.3% for hazardous drinking.
Work–Family Conflict: 35.9% are experiencing high or very high levels of conflict between their professional and personal lives. For those in the top 10% of the burnout metric, high work-family conflict apparently increases stress risk by an additional 15.5%.
Workload. Long hours were associated with elevated risks of moderate-to-severe depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout. Lawyers working 71+ hours a week demonstrated significantly higher mental health risk compared to those working 40 hours a week.
Only 39.1% believe employers are doing enough to support lawyers’ well-being.
Only 25.3% believe the profession is doing enough to improve lawyer well-being.
~50% fear seeking help will not be confidential or will harm their career.
New Lawyers exhibit the highest mental health risk.
Litigators. Those with practices involving litigation, reported a consistent increase in the prevalence of burnout and moderate-or-higher depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.
Solo private practice and private firms. These lawyers tended to be in higher-risk workplaces.
How Might We Do Better? Better Together
The nub of the problems, and their potential remedies, seem captured in this finding: ~50% fear seeking help will not be confidential or will harm their career. Echoed by these: only 39.1% believe employers are doing enough to support lawyers’ well-being; and only 25.3% believe the profession is doing enough to improve lawyer well-being.2
A recent survey released by the Washington State Bar Association this year ( “Well-Being Task Force Final Report” (May 2026)), likewise found Washington lawyers to be reluctant to turn to the state bar association for help.3
State bar assistance programs are perhaps seen as disciplinary and monitoring of discipline, and therefore lawyers often remain reluctant to trust that structure. Employer Assistance Program (EAP) resources also appear under-utilized.
“The persistence of confidentiality and career-related concerns has direct implications for intervention design, including the need for trusted, confidential access points for support that are independent from disciplinary entities … Resources that clearly communicate credible privacy protections are likely to be more acceptable to lawyers who otherwise would avoid seeking help.”
Supra n.1 (2026 ABA report) at 4.3 (emph. added)
The ABA report does not focus on the studies showing peer support is what actually moves the needle in these areas, toward better well-being. Evidence-based studies are clear that the most effective prevention and recovery efforts include lived-experience peer support. Nothing breaks down the stigma, shame, isolation, and fear of discipline or reputational harm — which keep lawyers from seeking help — like lawyer-to-lawyer peer support. Contact WALAL for confidential, independent, and free peer support.
Notes
1. ABA/Krill & Anker, “When Demands Equal Distress: An Updated Understanding of Lawyer Mental Health and Well-Being,” Journal of Affective Disorders (2026). sciencedirect.com
2. American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, “Survey of Lawyer Well-Being: Data-Driven Insights on Lawyer Mental Health and Well-Being.” americanbar.org
3. Washington State Bar Association, 2026 WSBA Member Well-Being Task Force: Final Report (May 2026), at p. 25. The report identifies WALAL as a nonprofit peer support resource independent of the WSBA, expanding the options available to Washington lawyers seeking help.
