Helping Lawyers Overcome Addictive Behaviors

Lawyer Career Consulting DC helps lawyers find emotional strength to stop abusing alcohol, drugs, food, work, and sex, to stabilize their lives and maintain professional integrity.

"Lawyers work compulsively, then seek relief from stress by abusing substances, such as alcohol, drugs, and food, and through other compulsive behaviors, such as sex."

Lawyer Career Consulting DC works with lawyers who report:

• an unusually high incidence of substance abuse, especially with alcohol;
• pervasive work compulsion, which is highly rewarded in the profession;
• feeling "empty" and "lost," which often follow from addictive behaviors;
• the compounding effect of one addictive behavior on another, so that many high-performing lawyers suffer more than one; and
• serious damage to the lawyer’s work performance and emotional stability.

Many local bar associations, including the District of Columbia Bar, have recognized the serious addictive problems affecting lawyers, especially from substance abuse.

Lawyer Career Consulting DC can work with you to assess and address problems you may have with addictive behaviors:

• Work Addiction: Perfectionism and high performance standards can be a serious challenge for many lawyers.
  • Work-addicted lawyers cannot contain their drive to work constantly.
  • Collateral effects include tendencies toward micromanagement, controlling behavior, hyper-sensitivity to criticism, and personal rigidity and defensiveness.
  • Work addiction can also interfere with sleep, personal relationships, andmental health, contributing toanxiety and depression.
• Alcohol, Drugs, Food, Sex and Gambling:
  • Seeking relief from stress of work, many lawyers abuse substancesand engage in personal activities (such as sex) that help them relax, provide stimulation and excitement, or offer a "pleasurable feeling."
  • Taken to excess, such substances and activities can expose a lawyer to significant risks, including Driving Under the Influence (DUI), possession of illegal substances, and certain unethical behaviors, including with clients.

Lawyer Career Consulting DC can help you determine if you have an addiction problem, understand its causes, and take steps to address it. Lawyer Career Consulting DC provides a professional setting where addiction problems are addressed competently and sensitively, and in complete confidence.