MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (10/5/2026) — New research co-authored by Justin Anker, PhD, of the University of Minnesota Medical School is the largest survey of mental health among actively licensed lawyers to date and provides the first large-scale measurement of work-related burnout in the legal profession.
The study found that symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, burnout and hazardous drinking are common among practicing lawyers and are strongly associated with workplace conditions, including work demands and conflict between work and home life. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders .
The study, which surveyed lawyers randomly invited across all geographic regions of the U.S., was conducted through a partnership between Krill Strategies, a Pittsburgh-based behavioral health advisory firm for the legal profession, and the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs.
Co-authors Dr. Anker and Patrick Krill analyzed responses from more than 39,000 working lawyers. Results were statistically weighted to match the national benchmarks for age, gender, and race/ethnicity from the American Bar Association's 2024 National Lawyer Population Survey.
"Nearly half of the lawyers in this study reported high or very high burnout, and burnout stood out as the factor most closely tied to distress," said Dr. Anker, who is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. "Burnout has not been measured at this scale in the profession before, and the distress we found tracks with measurable features of the work: how demanding it is, where it is practiced, and how far it reaches into people's home lives."
Key findings include:
Nearly half of lawyers reported high or very high burnout.
Higher levels of burnout were associated with greater psychological distress. Lawyers who reported greater conflict between their work and home lives also reported greater distress, even after accounting for burnout.
About one in five lawyers reported moderate or higher symptoms of depression (21.6%), anxiety (20.4%) and stress (18.9%) on a standard symptom questionnaire.
About two in five screened positive for hazardous drinking on a standard alcohol questionnaire.
Distress, burnout and hazardous drinking varied with work demands and practice setting.
Concerns about confidentiality (53%) and career impact (49%) were the most commonly cited barriers to seeking help.
"The legal profession has long been characterized by both high professional demands and elevated rates of distress and hazardous drinking," said Krill. "This research provides the clearest understanding yet of the relationship between those experiences, and helps us understand how the profession could make needed improvements going forward."
Because the survey provides a snapshot in time, the researchers note that it cannot determine whether burnout contributes to distress and hazardous drinking or whether those factors contribute to burnout.
Future research could follow lawyers over time to better understand these relationships and develop and test interventions aimed at reducing burnout and work-life conflict. The researchers also say that addressing concerns about confidentiality and potential career consequences will be important to making such interventions accessible to lawyers.
For lawyers who may be experiencing distress or burnout, the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs offers a directory of state lawyer assistance programs which provide free, confidential support to members of the legal profession.
