Practicing attorneys have a reputation to protect, and they tend to do so fiercely. When addiction takes hold of an attorney’s life, a common tendency is to conceal the addiction, making a second career out of hiding it from co-workers, clients and personal relationships. This leads to several carefully crafted misconceptions about addiction in the legal profession, which need to be reversed so that lawyers can confront their addiction and receive necessary rehabilitation treatment.

Common misconceptions about addiction in the legal profession are:

• “An attorney’s addiction is a private matter and should require no action on the part of the law firm or the Bar.” In truth, cases of addiction within any profession, particularly in cases of substance abuse, have shown that the individual’s work performance is exceedingly likely to be affected negatively by the addiction. In the legal profession, it is very common for an addicted attorney to miss court dates, become disorganized in their work, show signs of poor decision making or even of being under the influence during work hours. An individual attorney’s addiction directly affects the law firm they practice under, and reflects poorly on the legal profession itself.

• “You can always tell an addict by their behavior at work and their attendance.” This is untrue for attorneys more than any other professional group because they are practiced masters of persuasion. Often, an attorney is able to keep their addiction problems a secret for years by carefully disguising their habits, such as covering up symptoms of hangovers, continuing to function even while under the influence, and having alibis for any behavior that is potentially telling of their problem.

• “It is socially acceptable for attorneys to use substances recreationally; it doesn’t indicate addiction.” While it is true that not every case of substance use among attorneys is addiction, one of the most common forms of denial among addicted legal professionals is this kind of reasoning. Because substance abuse is more prevalent in the legal profession than in others, it is easy for attorneys to justify their substance abuse through the behavior of their peers. This falsity delays the recognition of addiction and puts the attorney’s legal proceedings and personal life in jeopardy.