Mental Health and the Competent Lawyer

Mental Health and the Competent Lawyer

This two-hour program addresses the prevention and detection of mental health conditions that impair an
attorney’s ability to practice law, and the professional obligations that arise when they do. Using the 2026
ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and Krill Strategies study of approximately 37,000
lawyers, participants examine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress and burnout in the profession
and how these conditions present in legal work, including missed deadlines, avoidance of clients,
deteriorating work product and withdrawal from colleagues. The program teaches recognition of warning
signs in oneself and in colleagues, the difference between ordinary stress and a condition that requires
professional help, and the pathways to confidential assistance, including the State Bar of California Lawyer
Assistance Program established under Business and Professions Code sections 6230 and following, with
confidentiality protected by section 6234. It then covers the governing rules: competence under Rule 1.1(b),
which defines competence to include the mental, emotional and physical ability reasonably necessary to
perform legal services; client communication under Rule 1.4 and Business and Professions Code section
6068(m); mandatory withdrawal under Rule 1.16(a)(3) when a lawyer’s mental or physical condition renders
effective representation unreasonably difficult; confidentiality under Rule 1.6; the limits of the reporting duty
under Rule 8.3, including paragraph (d), which provides that the rule does not require or authorize disclosure
of information gained while participating in a substance use or mental health program; and Rule 8.4.1, under
which mental disability and medical condition are protected characteristics in law firm operations. The
program includes evidence-informed stress management practices in the context of legal practice, a firm
policy framework that reduces barriers to seeking help, and an applied case study.

Learning objectives

1. Describe the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress and burnout among lawyers using current
   national data, and how these conditions present in legal work.
2. Distinguish ordinary practice stress from indications that professional help is needed, and identify the
   confidential resources available to California lawyers.
3. Apply Rule 1.1(b), Rule 1.4 and Rule 1.16(a)(3) to a lawyer whose condition is affecting client matters.
4. Explain what Rule 8.3 does and does not require when a colleague is struggling, including the
   paragraph (d) exception for mental health program participation.
5. Implement stress management practices and firm policies that protect the ability to perform legal
   services with competence.
6. Timed Agenda
   
   0:00–0:03 Welcome, objectives, and what this program is not: it is
   education for lawyers, not clinical advice or diagnosis
   
   0:03–0:23 The prevalence data and how conditions present in legal
   practice: the 2026 ABA/Krill findings; depression, anxiety,
   stress, burnout; the treatment gap
   
   0:23–0:48 Recognition and response: warning signs in yourself and in
   colleagues; the line between practice stress and a
   condition needing professional care; treatment pathways;
   the State Bar Lawyer Assistance Program under B&P 6230
   et seq. and confidentiality under 6234
   
   0:48–1:03 The rules, part one: competence under Rule 1.1(b);
   communication under Rule 1.4 and B&P 6068(m);
   mandatory withdrawal under Rule 1.16(a)(3) and
   reassignment within a firm
   
   1:03–1:05 Stretch break1:05–1:35 Protecting capacity: evidence-informed stress
   management in the context of legal practice, including
   workload boundaries, recovery time, sleep, movement and
   peer connection, and how each bears on the ability to
   perform legal services competently
   
   1:35–1:50 The rules, part two: confidentiality under Rule 1.6; the
   limits of Rule 8.3, including paragraph (d) and the
   comments; mental disability and medical condition as
   protected characteristics under Rule 8.4.1; firm policy that
   lowers the barrier to seeking help
   
   1:50–2:05 Applied case study: the lawyer who stopped answering,
   the client who noticed, and what the firm and the lawyer
   each must do
   2:05–2:10 Quiz, evaluation, certificate

Speaker Biography for Mark C. Daly, JD

I was admitted to the State Bar of California in November 1999 and have practiced immigration law for 26 years. I twice started, built, managed and sold law practices, in Nashville and Denver. In both firms I personally hired, trained, supervised and evaluated attorneys and staff, and I was responsible for the systems that kept our files, deadlines and client communications on track. I learned leadership the hard way, through trial and error. Those years taught me that when a supervising lawyer gets leadership wrong, the cost shows up in missed deadlines, unhappy clients and exhausted lawyers.

I am a certified professional coach through the Raynor Institute, and I am registered with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies as an Unlicensed Psychotherapist. I have completed training in Voice Dialogue, Shadow Work® facilitation, the Gottman Seven Principles, and Emotionally Focused Therapy. As Director of Training for Transformative Training in Denver, I oversaw the company’s leadership development, manager coaching and presentation skills programs for businesses and government agencies.

In 2004, the State Bar of California approved my immigration law and practice management trainings for MCLE credit, and I have been a registered California CLE provider ever since. I also helped design and manage “The Secret Keys for Maximizing Your Fees,” a CLE program my business partner presented to the state bars of Arizona, Maine, Nevada and New Jersey. I have spoken at American Immigration Lawyers Association and Federal Bar Association meetings. Today I provide coaching services to the Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program (COLAP) and the Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program (CAMP). I have also mentored dozens of attorneys in law office start-up and practice management.

In 2025, my wife and I took a one-year sabbatical around the world. I came home with a clearer sense of purpose and stepped back from daily practice to launch Actualis Attorney Wellness. My aim is to help attorneys feel good, enjoy life and do the right thing, including as leaders of their own practices and teams.

Qualifications for This Activity

• California attorney. Admitted to the State Bar of California in November 1999 (Bar No. 202928). MCLE Provider #21025.
• Colorado lawyer well-being programs. Provides coaching services to the Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program (COLAP) and the Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program (CAMP).
• Firsthand supervisory experience. Founded, managed and sold two law practices. Directly responsible, as a managing lawyer, for the firm measures, supervision and client-communication practices that California Rules of Professional Conduct 5.1 and 5.3 require.
• California-approved CLE since 2004. Immigration law and practice management trainings approved by the State Bar of California in 2004. Helped design and manage “The Secret Keys for Maximizing Your Fees,” presented to the state bars of Arizona, Maine, Nevada and New Jersey. Speaker at AILA and Federal Bar Association meetings.
• Well-being training. Registered Unlicensed Psychotherapist, Colorado DORA (No. NLC.0108322), bound by statutory confidentiality duties. Brings a trauma-informed approach to recognizing stress, burnout and impairment.
• Director of Training, Lead Facilitator and Coach. Transformative Training (Denver). Designed long-term leadership development programs for government agencies, trained managers to coach their direct reports to improve performance, and taught presentation skills.
• Certified Professional Coach. Raynor Institute. Has coached managing and associate attorneys and staff on workload, supervision and burnout.