Ask Ms. Ps & Qs

By Professor Nancy Rapoport

Dear Readers:

The Academy staff has raised an important issue: Given the mental health issues associated with the pandemic, what should someone do when he or she sees a colleague lawyer in distress?

Before we get to the ethics implications, let’s talk about the mental health issue itself. When people are under great stress, they try to find ways to alleviate that stress. Sometimes, those ways include self-medication with drugs or alcohol; sometimes, people’s behavior just … changes. Normally calm people can get testy or aggressive. People can snap, or misinterpret someone . . .

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