He Was a Brilliant Lawyer

By Hon. Kenton Skarin

In 2020, a dear friend lost his fight with alcohol and mental health.

He was a brilliant lawyer.

He was first in his law school class, clerked for the Supreme Court, and had the successful career to match.

And then he wasn’t there any more.

I miss my friend.

My phone automatically put his number under “frequently dialed,” where it stayed for over a year afterwards.

I still think of questions I’d like to ask him, stories he would laugh about, insults we would trade.

I have a memento from his office in my chambers.

I talked to him only a handful of hours before he passed.

Several times over his last few years he told me,

“The purpose of my life might be to be a warning to you.”

It was, and it is.

I’m passing that warning along.

It is popular to say, “Please ask for help,”

and the plaudit is fine as far as it goes.

But there’s no shame in admitting you can’t do it all.

This is especially true for lawyers.

The most thorough (and thoughtful) analysis of the challenges lawyers face that I know of remains a 1999 Vanderbilt Law Review article tellingly titled “On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession.” I am grateful to one of my professors, Northwestern Law’s James Pfander, for sharing it with me years ago.

The article paints a sobering picture.

Lawyers suffer dramatically higher rates of depression, anxiety, mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse, divorce, suicide, and general unhealthiness. Law is an honorable, necessary, and important profession. At our best, lawyers help people solve the problems they cannot solve on their own. But it can take a horrible toll.

I was lucky. My law firm experience, while very challenging, was positive.

I learned much. I met wonderful people. I made friends.

But if you are a practicing lawyer (and particularly if you are a young one), think about how you are going to complete the marathon of practicing well.

Let my friend be a warning.

It is never too late to try something else, and there’s no shame in trying.

You are not a failure if you do.

The Hon. Kenton J. Skarin is a judge for the Illinois 18th Judicial Circuit.