Minority Lawyer Mental Health Awareness Month
Published in July 2026 newsletter of the M. Margaret McKeown Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington
Leslie Hagin, WA Lawyers Assisting Lawyers (WaLAL)
July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Established by Congress in 2008, it acknowledges the disparities in mental health treatment and cultural factors that affect mental health experiences among Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). It recognizes that racial and ethnic minorities often encounter especially significant barriers to mental health care, including professional and cultural stigma, and historical and ongoing discrimination, making awareness and support crucial. People who identify as LGBTQ+ also often experience the same barriers. 1
Mental Health America (MHA) offers a downloadable 2026 BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit “designed to be used by trusted people in trusted spaces throughout communities of color. These resources are intended to encourage check-ins that go beyond the surface, spark honest conversations about mental health, and prepare people to support themselves and each other if they’re struggling to have good days.” 2
In last month’s newsletter, I wrote about the 55 lawyer suicides reported in state data for 2018-2023 (>9 a year). I noted at least half were struggling with mental health issues rather than physical ones, and many also with substance use. Studies also reflect 11-19% of lawyers contemplated suicide in the last year; 1 in 3 suffer from substance use or other mental health challenges; and as many as 1 in 4 are considering leaving the profession due to stress, anxiety and “burnout.” As minorities face even greater challenges. As concerning as these findings are, studies show lawyers of color and other minorities face even greater challenges.
A recent large study by American Lawyer revealed roughly 31% of Black lawyers have contemplated suicide during their careers. It also found that about 35% of Black attorneys felt anxiety based on their race, as did 12% of Asian attorneys and 5% of Hispanic attorneys. In addition, 51% of Black attorneys and 49% of Asian and Hispanic attorneys felt their firms did not provide support for their personal well-being. 3
The first nationwide survey to examine the mental health and well-being of Hispanic/Latinx attorneys is the ongoing Hispanic Lawyers Wellness Study. It is being conducted by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) in collaboration with the Institute for Well-Being in Law and the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. While the study is ongoing, preliminary findings show that these lawyers face elevated rates of burnout, depression, and anxiety compared to the general legal profession; nearly 40% expressed intent to leave the legal profession due to these issues; and 89% were first-generation lawyers, adding pressure in navigating the legal field without familial precedent. The results are most pronounced among litigators and Latinas. 4
Lived Experience and Peer Support
Peer support and mentorship, such as that critically provided by minority and affinity bar associations, and minority lawyer leadership in the profession and courts, are essential. WaLAL is honored to partner with the M. Margaret McKeown Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington to further collective and systemic support for minority lawyers, bar associations and law school groups not only during Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, but throughout all of the other eleven months.
On the other hand, evidentiary studies confirm that non-professional, confidential and independent peer support -- by and with one sharing the lived experience -- is most effective in breaking down barriers of distrust, stigma and fear of reputational harm, and in improving wellbeing outcomes. 5
WaLAL has dozens of well-trained, volunteer lawyer peer counselors with diverse lived-through experiences, offering local (“here and now”), confidential and independent peer support. If you are a BIPOC or other minority lawyer, judge or law student, we hope you will consider contacting WaLAL if you want peer support. Please also contact WaLAL if you are interested in becoming a peer support counselor.6
In addition, we offer independent and site-specific peer support training (and continued support and resources) to minority and affinity associations and law firms (private, public and nonprofit). 7 WaLAL presentations and peer counselor trainings are free, safe and MCLE accredited.
Washington Lawyers Assisting Lawyers (WaLAL) is a 501(c)(3) local non-profit of volunteer lawyers, judges and law students dedicated to applying their lived-through experiences to help others be well and transforming our legal community’s approach to mental health and well-being.
1 BIPOC Mental Health Month | Mental Health America
2 Id., for link to downloadable Toolkit.
3 https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2021/06/08/attorneys-of-color-reveal-alarmingly-higher-
instances-of-mental-health-struggles/
4 See also Hispanic National Bar Association, Commission on Latinas in the Profession, National
Study and Report, “Few and Far Between: The Reality of Latina Lawyers ((Sept. 2009);
https://hnba.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/STILL-TOO-FEW-AND-FAR-BETWEEN.pdf . Studies show that less than 7% of lawyers seek help for substance use or other mental health challenges (and less than 4% of law students do). Surveys, including the recent (May 2026) Final Report of the WSBA Well-Being Task Force, confirm a special reluctance by lawyers to trust the licensing and disciplinary state bar association or employer resources.
5 Davidson, et al., “Revisiting the Rationale and Evidence for Peer Support,” 35, 6 Psychiatric
Times (Jun. 2018); Substance Abuse and Mental Health Servs. Admin. (SAMHSA), Value of
Peers (2017); Evidence-Peer-Support-May-2019.
6 https://www.walawyersassistinglawyers.com/what-we-do
7 M. Margaret McKeown Federal Bar Association - Help