If
you’ve
ever
laughed
at
a
phrase
like
“Be
honest
with
your
therapist,
but
not
so
honest
that
you
end
up
in
the
Grippy
Sock
Hotel,”
this
is
the
update
you’ve
been
waiting
for!
Juggling
the
obligation
to
be
forthright
so
you
can
get
the
assistance
you
need
without
being
punished
for
your
honesty
isn’t
just
a
danger
in
therapy,
it
can
also
hurt
your
career.
The
character
and
fitness
questions
have
spawned
much
anxiety
and
many
Reddit
threads
about
how
mental
health
and
substance
abuse
histories
could
stop
law
students
from
getting
ahead
in
their
careers,
even
if
they’ve
done
the
hard
work
of
managing
their
situations.
Thankfully,
recent
changes
to
the
Character
Report
should
ease
some
of
the
stress.
ABA
Journal
has
coverage:
The
National
Conference
of
Bar
Examiners’
updates
to
its
standard
Character
Report
Application
template
used
by
many
jurisdictions
significantly
changed
questions
related
to
mental
health
and
substance
abuse
that
previously
put
off
many
law
students
from
receiving
help.
…
Now,
the
applications
preamble
page
encourages
applicants
to
seek
help.
And
in
the
updated
version,
two
questions
relate
substance
use
and
mental
health,
but
they
focus
on
potential
misconduct
in
limited
time
periods
before
bar
admission,
and
that
aligns
“with
the
spirit
and
law
interpreting
the
Americans
With
Disabilities
Act,”
the
blog
post
authors
wrote.
There
is
also
a
question
related
to
drug
and
alcohol
related
traffic
violations.“These
positive
changes
to
character
and
fitness
questions
enable
us
to
double
down
on
communicating
to
our
students
that
they
should
seek
help
while
in
law
school
without
fear
that
their
condition
or
impairment,
in
and
of
itself,
will
delay
admission
to
the
bar,”
the
blog
post
authors
wrote.
This
is
a
step
in
the
right
direction.
On
balance,
lawyers
have
struggled
with
mental
health
and
drug
abuse
for
decades.
Last
year,
73%
of
attorneys
and
staff
said
they
felt
their
work
environment
contributed
to
mental
health
issues.
Here’s
the
kicker
—
that
number
is
progress
compared
to
the
prior
year’s
79%.
As
the
culture
pushes
to
make
it
easier
for
people
to
get
the
help
that
they
need,
removing
unnecessary
roadblocks
that
complicate
the
process
like
the
old
application
questions
is
a
much
needed
change.
NCBE
Updates
Character
Report,
Changes
Questions
Related
To
Mental
Health
And
Substance
Abuse
[ABA
Journal]
Earlier:
Mental
Health
May
Be
Improving
For
Lawyers,
But
Severe
Stressors
Remain
—
And
They’re
Getting
Worse
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boat
builder
who
is
learning
to
swim
and
is
interested
in
rhetoric,
Spinozists
and
humor.
Getting
back
in
to
cycling
wouldn’t
hurt
either.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at
[email protected]
and
by
Tweet/Bluesky
at @WritesForRent.