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Ann D. Foster
Texas Lawyer
02-03-2010
Editor's note: In the aftermath of the Jan. 18 apparent suicide of Baker & Hostetler partner John Mason Mings, Texas Lawyer asked Ann D. Foster, director of the State Bar of Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program, to discuss suicide warning signs. Mings, an intellectual property litigator, died of a single gunshot wound to the head. According to a report from the Galveston Police Department, on the afternoon of Jan. 18 witnesses on a beach in Galveston saw Mings sitting alone by the water's edge. After they heard a gunshot, they saw Mings "laying in the water and no one else was nearby." Before joining Baker & Hostetler in 2008, Mings had been a partner in Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston. Lisa Pennington, managing partner of the Houston office of Baker & Hostetler, says everyone at the office was shocked to learn of Mings' death. "It's been pretty devastating for everybody here. He's such a brilliant lawyer and a good friend," she says. "We just didn't see it coming." The firm has set up an educational fund for Mings' children, The John Mings Memorial Fund, and contributions can be made to Baker & Hostetler's Houston office, she says. Since Mings' death, Pennington says she has told the lawyers in the office to seek counseling if they feel they need some help. "If there's any issues, like depression, they can feel easy about coming to me, and I want them to get treatment," she says.
I get a particular type of call too often. Over time, I've learned how to recognize a certain tension, a hesitation in the voices. I know a lawyer has died by suicide. Recently, I got a call about a lawyer in Houston.
According to a 2009 National Institute of Mental Health fact sheet, death by suicide is reported at the approximate rate of 11 deaths per 100,000 people per year in the United States. With about 85,000 members of the State Bar of Texas, if the statistics hold true, about nine lawyers die by suicide in Texas in any given year.
Other studies discussed in "Preventing Suicide: A Challenge to the Legal Profession" in the October/November 2008 issue of the American Bar Association's GPSolo magazine suggest that the number of lawyers who die by suicide each year may actually be six times greater than the national average.
No matter the number, when I hear about a lawyer's death by suicide, I think about the individual, what kind of mental state he or she was in, and what kind of misery could have prompted such a desperate action. I think about the consequences to family, friends, colleagues and clients. It's a heartbreaking event for all concerned. In the aftermath, many will question whether they could have done something to help. So what is a lawyer to do?
1. Pay attention to suicide warning signs: While some deaths occur without warning, most suicidal people provide a number of clues as to what they are thinking. Studies show that most people communicate their intentions to someone they know some time during the week preceding their attempt. These may be direct verbal clues, such as "I'm going to kill myself"; indirect verbal clues, such as "I don't think it's worth going on anymore"; and lots of clues in between, including nonverbal clues.
Listen for expressions of anxiety, feeling trapped, purposelessness, hopelessness and anger. Other warning signs may include increased isolation, recklessness, exhausted appearance, deteriorating hygiene, missing work and decreased productivity at work. If a lawyer is not sure whether what a colleague is expressing constitutes suicidal ideation, he or she should err on the side of caution.
2. Consider risk factors for suicide: According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Web site, of the people who die by suicide, 90 percent are depressed, have substance abuse issues or another mental-health disorder; 25 percent to 50 percent have previously attempted suicide; many have a family history of mental disorder or substance abuse; and many have a family history of suicide or exposure to others' suicidal behavior.
Men are four times more likely to complete suicide than women. Adult males older than 65 are at particular risk.
Statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health indicate that 56 percent of men and 31 percent of females who die by suicide use a firearm.
Termination from employment, economic hardship, separation or divorce, and real or perceived public embarrassment or humiliation also may be factors.
3. Be prepared to ask questions and to listen: If a colleague or friend is exhibiting subtle or not-so-subtle warning signs or clues about suicide, familiarize yourself with what to say and how to say it.
A direct approach is best: In an empathetic, nonjudgmental way, ask, "Are you thinking about hurting yourself?" It's a myth that talking about suicide will encourage it. In fact, talking through these feelings and thoughts may help reduce the anxiety and stress your friend feels and help generate other options. Willingness to listen encourages a friend to talk. That's a solid indication that he or she still has the will to live. Lawyers know how to ask artful questions, listen carefully and suggest solutions. We are perfectly capable of having these kinds of conversations.
4. Get help and advice: If, despite your best efforts, you remain concerned about someone, don't be sworn to secrecy, and don't take on the challenge alone. Get your friend to a mental health professional or call one yourself, call 911, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or call the State Bar of Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program at (800) 343-8527. Your job is to get your friend the professional help he or she needs.
For more about what to say and how to respond, take a suicide prevention course such as QPR (question, persuade and refer), available online at www.qprinstitute.com or contact a QPR-certified trainer who can make a live QPR presentation to a group.
These are complex and sensitive issues certainly deserving of more space and time than what is available here. No one should presume to know what goes through another's mind when the decision to die by suicide is made, and it is not our place to judge.
What is critical, however, is the fact that it only takes one person to make a difference in another's life. It is certainly possible that there may come a time and a place when you are the person given the privilege of making that difference. This is not to suggest that lawyers become mental health professionals. However, as members of one of the original healing professions, lawyers may be in a unique position to help friends, colleagues and clients out of a mental health crisis. We should prepare for these moments as if life depends on them. Sometimes it might.
Ann D. Foster is the director of the State Bar of Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program, www.texasbar.com\tlap. She is an attorney, a licensed professional counselor-intern and a certified trainer in a method of suicide prevention called QPR (question, persuade and refer). She wishes to thank Allan Cook, J.D., and Victor Scarano, M.D., J.D., for their valuable assistance in developing this article.
