Why are lawyers killing themselves?

[tornado]

One by one, state by state, bar associations say the tally is rising: Lawyers are killing themselves.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/19/us/lawyer-...=obnetwork

(CNN) -- Finis Price III was a successful Kentucky lawyer, a popular professor, and a sought after technology consultant. He also enjoyed a marriage so close that his wife was also his business partner. The good days ended abruptly when he jumped to his death in 2012.

"Finis was my best friend since we were kids," Heather Price said of her husband, who taught at Chase Law School at Northern Kentucky University and managed a thriving practice until his death at age 37.

"I intentionally presented it as an accident. The taboo and stigma of suicide was too much for me to handle," she said.

One by one, state by state, bar associations say the tally is rising: Lawyers are killing themselves. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided CNN with the latest available data on suicide deaths by profession. Lawyers ranked fourth when the proportion of suicides in that profession is compared to suicides in all other occupations in the study population (adjusted for age).They come right behind dentists, pharmacists and physicians.

Lawyers are also prone to depression, which the American Psychological Association, among others, identified as the most likely trigger for suicide. Lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression than non-lawyers.
Professions with the most suicides

1. Dentists

2. Pharmacists

3. Physicians

4. Lawyers

5. Engineers



Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Prominent lawyers keep turning up dead. They came one a month in Oklahoma around 2004. South Carolina lost six lawyers within 18 months before July 2008. Kentucky has seen 15 known lawyer suicides since 2010.
(more at the link)

[PonderThis]

Those poor, poor lawyers.

[Wonky]

Those poor, poor lawyers.

You are all heart Ponder.

Many (most of us maybe) are not fond of lawyers. But people ending their own lives doesn't warrant flip remarks. Or maybe your remark was intended to be sympathetic. Your history here would suggest otherwise.

If my comment is too harsh and off the mark, I hope you will find time to explain your entry above. Or not: I don't "deserve it"….just curious to know.

And I hope no one you know and love takes their own life. It can be a burden long remembered.

[PonderThis]

These days I make my living being a landlord. Nobody loves landlords, and my favorite book on landlording says so right up front. There are some occupations where you will have to find your satisfactions in ways that don't involve being loved.

Dentistry is another (as mentioned in Tornado's post, actually ranked higher in depression than lawyering).

There are some things that just come with the territory. If you take up an occupation that continually involves human conflict (such as lawyering), it's not going to be easy on your psyche. If you want an easier go of it, don't go into those kinds of occupations. I'm just not sure what can be said beyond that.

[Wonky]

These days I make my living being a landlord. Nobody loves landlords, and my favorite book on landlording says so right up front. There are some occupations where you will have to find your satisfactions in ways that don't involve being loved.

Dentistry is another (as mentioned in Tornado's post, actually ranked higher in depression than lawyering).

There are some things that just come with the territory. If you take up an occupation that continually involves human conflict (such as lawyering), it's not going to be easy on your psyche. If you want an easier go of it, don't go into those kinds of occupations. I'm just not sure what can be said beyond that.

Your "logic" escapes me.
Again.

[PonderThis]

Perhaps you love lawyers. Personally, I hate them. It's a miserable asshole occupation, based on everything that is wrong about the human experience. If they die early it's inadvertent, but so what?

There, do you like that better?

[Wonky]

Perhaps you love lawyers. Personally, I hate them. It's a miserable asshole occupation, based on everything that is wrong about the human experience. If they die early it's inadvertent, but so what?

There, do you like that better?

Not really Ponder.
The "issue" here is people ending their lives prematurely. Lawyers, or whomever. Seems a bit callous to feel any group of folks should kill themselves before "their time". Remember others suffer when this happens.
But hey, you are a landlord and God knows you seem to have special insights to the injustices lawyers can bother you with.

I still think you are missing the greater point. As I said before, I suspect you often do. But hey, that's just me and I've missed a few points myself.

[PonderThis]

I didn't say lawyers "should" kill themselves before their time. I said if they do it's inadvertent, but sensitive sorts shouldn't go into occupations like that. And in the meantime I hope they made lots of money, because it's the main reason I can think anyone would want to put up with the continual conflict inherent in the job for.

It's not a difficult point at all.

[Wonky]

I didn't say lawyers "should" kill themselves before their time. I said if they do it's inadvertent, but sensitive sorts shouldn't go into occupations like that. And in the meantime I hope they made lots of money, because it's the main reason I can think anyone would want to put up with the continual conflict inherent in the job for.

It's not a difficult point at all.

Okay.
We are just seeing this a bit differently. "Never the twain shall meet".
I'm going to concede you are right and have another cup of coffee.

[PonderThis]

At this point it would be tempting to throw in a Shakespeare quote, where he has one of his actors saying something to the effect of "First thing we do is kill all the lawyers!"

I used to think this was Shakespeare himself that was saying this (that's how it was first presented to me), but upon research Shakespeare liked lawyers fine, and the line was only acting out an opposing position in a play. Bummer.

[Wonky]

At this point it would be tempting to throw in a Shakespeare quote, where he has one of his actors saying something to the effect of "First thing we do is kill all the lawyers!"

I used to think this was Shakespeare himself that was saying this (that's how it was first presented to me), but upon research Shakespeare liked lawyers fine, and the line was only acting out an opposing position in a play. Bummer.

Still a good line.
And God knows if about 90% of lawyers would find honest work we wouldn't miss them.

[tvguy]

Our laws are many and written in a manor so that they can only be taken one way. But it takes a lot of knowledge to be skilled at doing so.
I think some people hate lawyers until they need one. Kind of like cops. I haven't had a bad experience with an attorney.Twice I've had a very good experience.

Our president is a lawyer.

[PonderThis]

Imagine what the statistics are of killing yourself if you were a lawyer and owned a gun too.

[csrowan]

I have two lawyers as clients. One of whom is trying to reform the industry to be more ethical through a book introducing holistic practices disguised as good marketing and branding concepts. The other is a good landlord to many businesses, a patron of the arts, and donates to many worthy local causes.

I've found them to be very good people.

[Wonky]

I have two lawyers as clients. One of whom is trying to reform the industry to be more ethical through a book introducing holistic practices disguised as good marketing and branding concepts. The other is a good landlord to many businesses, a patron of the arts, and donates to many worthy local causes.

I've found them to be very good people.

You bet!
And to quote TVg's post above (God I hate to quote him ), " Our laws are many and written in a manor so that they can only be taken one way. But it takes a lot of knowledge to be skilled at doing so. I think some people hate lawyers until they need one. Kind of like cops. I haven't had a bad experience with an attorney.Twice I've had a very good experience". [end quote]

Exact langage is often very important. Lawyers (good ones) are trained to be precise so that conflicts can be avoided. When we need 'em we need them.
But it's been reported we have far too many lawyers. Maybe we could start a program to retrain a few of them to be shoe repairmen.
We don't, however, need to encourage them to kill themselves.

[PonderThis]

I don't think this article was about them needing encouragement. Their occupation alone appears to be sufficient there.

[Wonky]

I don't think this article was about them needing encouragement. Their occupation alone appears to be sufficient there.

So often your remarks don't warrant a response.

And yet I did.

Shame on me.

[PonderThis]

Oh, I started to edit it and tell about some times I've acted as my own lawyer, so does that put me at heightened risk of suicide as well? OK, I thought better of it. I've spent far more time bending over backwards so I never had to go to court than I've ever spent in court.