Brava, for bringing the important issue of depression to the forefront with a poignant illustration through one lawyer’s story: How Quinn Emanuel Partner Joe Milowic Plunged to the Depths of Depression but Inspired Other Lawyers to Believe in Themselves. The pressures that affect career performance and advancement in this high-tech age of 24/7–365 professional availability should concern everyone. I personally witnessed the escalation in a wide array of professional burn-outs over many years. “Back in the day”, as Chief Administrative Judge and a Judge of the State Court of Appeals, I also observed these situations from an institutional perspective.
For example, I accepted the invitation—nay, a then-urgent plea in the mid-1980s—to make myself and my judicial colleagues more aware of and helpful to the work of the state and city Lawyers Assistance Programs. By attending many meetings, my eyes and sensibilities were opened to the un-acknowledged need for wider visibility and more resources. Our late Chief Judge Judith Kaye heard the plea, too, and asked me to chair a task force to study and produce an action plan in 1999-2000. Some concrete helpful steps ensued.
