TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Aug 24, 2022

The law can be a very dangerous thing, University of Missouri School of Law Professor John Lande writes on Meditate.com. Although the legal system is inevitably imperfect, it does provide important benefits such as helping people solve difficult problems, making institutions function properly, and promoting justice, he says. These achievements, however, can be accompanied by vicarious trauma — feelings of trauma that affect those who engage empathetically with survivors of traumatic incidents. Lande cites an ABA Journal article that explores areas of practice where clients, and thus their lawyers, often deal with traumatic incidents. These realities need to be discussed starting in law school, and seeking help in these cases should be normalized, he says. “Lawyers are not immune from mental health issues, and struggling with vicarious trauma isn’t a personal failing. It’s simply a sign that you’re human.”