I had the pleasure to sit down a few weeks ago for a nice long talk with the brilliant and thoughtful Dan Lukasik, creator of the brilliant and thoughtful blog Lawyerswithdepression.com.
For some background on Dan and his work, click here.
As always, it was great to talk with Dan – he takes his time, asks good questions and knows what he’s talking about. We explored issues around depression, talked a bit about my books, and related everything to law, lawyers and the environment of a law firm.
You can read the full interview here.
My thanks to Dan, for arranging and conducting this nice long talk about topics that fascinate and concern us both.
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If you’re interested in learning more about the scientific and philosophical underpinnings of psychotherapy, you might enjoy my first book, “Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy”
My second book takes a humorous look at the current state of the legal profession, “Way Worse Than Being A Dentist”
(Both books are also available on bn.com and the Apple iBookstore.)
For information on my private practice, click here.
I went to a NYSBA Real Estate CLA course all day yesterday and in ethics, heard a story of a man jumping off the Tappan Zee Bridge because he was under examination by the ethics committee and in danger of losing his license to practice law. Lawyers take themselves and the profession a little *too* seriously at times. It is ok when it is all in good fun, and we can sit and laugh about it, but never worth taking your life over. We have a choice. We can live miserably in the insanity of doing the same thing over and over, or we can take the opportunity of misery as a reason for change. …As Will said, life is a brief opportunity for joy!
Grow up. Capitalism is built for the machines not for the humans. It grinds people to a pulp.
I agree with Golem. You need to grow up. He may have killed himself out of guilt or because he knew his lack of ethics would be found out in the end. . Lawyers are often put in difficult positions where ethics, morality and even the law itself can pushed aside in favor of capitalism and a rewarding career. It is not a job for saints; there are a lot of difficult decisions and lasting consequences..
Wow – great interview. The regression under stress materials shed a lot of light on things.
OK, one more question. The signs of depression being absence of anger and self-esteem ring true to me – I’ve been in law firms for over a decade and seen this in myself (years ago) and in others. It’s so common to think “I’m not pleasing the firm enough, therefore I’m defective.” But how do those folks get help, or break out, since it is so easy to fall into that passive thinking? Do only the ones who get so fed up and miserable that they actively look for help or new perspectives get out? I’m wondering about what happens in the long term to the silent pack of depressive lawyers who never say “f this” and start to surface. Curious I guess – some of the lawyers I like best who have reclaimed themselves and/or moved on altogether had near breakdowns/meltdowns/breakthroughs to go forward. What about the nice pleasers who never break down or break through? Do they become the class of partners who are OK producers, not superstars, or the “just OK” solos?
Well, there are a lot of miserable lawyers out there – and a lot of heavily-medicated ones. Many turn into mules, cranking out work, never complaining, hoping it will finally end one day, so they can rest. Not a pretty picture.
If you’re interested in the ideas presented in this interview, you might enjoy my first book – Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy – where they are explored in greater depth. http://www.amazon.com/Life-Brief-Opportunity-Joy-ebook/dp/B004DERGFQ/
The problem is not law. It is capitalism. Associates are grinded to a pulp to produce more and more for greedy partners. Their job is make others rich not to enrich themselves. It is so typical of the petit-beorgeosie