Comments on: Mitigate This? http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/2004/02/29/mitigate-this/ "breathless punditry" and "one-breath poetry" with David Giacalone Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:37:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.2.1 By: Denny Soinski http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/2004/02/29/mitigate-this/#comment-13360 Denny Soinski Wed, 29 Nov 2006 23:36:30 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/2004/02/29/mitigate-this/#comment-13360 Your article entitled “Mitigate This” was an enlightening introduction into the world of lawyer misconduct and into the world of self-destruction. While it makes sense that a lawyer disciplinary review board would more easily understand the position of an attorney in a lawyer misconduct case, I believe that upholding professional standards and not being too lenient, as the New Jersey Supreme Court proposed, is the more appropriate way to deal with situations such as this. It sounds like Mr. Bowman experienced tremendous pressures at work but in fact, his way of dealing with these pressures was anything but professional or ethical. He gave into alcoholism, he neglected a number of clients, and he failed to follow through with his legal responsibilities. No surprise that he started to feel depressed and experienced family problems (although both of these could have been triggered from drinking rather from any pressures at work). There are so many parts to this story that need to be examined. Most lawyers make a good living. If Mr. Bowman was living within his means, wouldn’t he have some savings? If so, why the “fear of missing billing goals that would cost him pay”? Mr. Bowman probably had a decent health insurance plan that included coverage for counseling and psychological help. Did he take advantage of this? Did Mr. Bowman ever think about talking to his immediate supervisor when he first started noticing the intolerable pressures at work? Why didn’t Mr. Bowman talk to his supervisor about perhaps reducing his workload? It appears that Mr. Bowman, not unlike many others, closed himself off from the people who could help him and from the people who cared for him as he started self-medication via drinking. His response to the pressures at work was a solid game plan for failure and for self-destruction. DenMan7 http://www.Alcohol-Recovery-Info.com Your article entitled “Mitigate This” was an enlightening introduction into the world of lawyer misconduct and into the world of self-destruction.

While it makes sense that a lawyer disciplinary review board would more easily understand the position of an attorney in a lawyer misconduct case, I believe that upholding professional standards and not being too lenient, as the New Jersey Supreme Court proposed, is the more appropriate way to deal with situations such as this.

It sounds like Mr. Bowman experienced tremendous pressures at work but in fact, his way of dealing with these pressures was anything but professional or ethical. He gave into alcoholism, he neglected a number of clients, and he failed to follow through with his legal responsibilities. No surprise that he started to feel depressed and experienced family problems (although both of these could have been triggered from drinking rather from any pressures at work).

There are so many parts to this story that need to be examined. Most lawyers make a good living. If Mr. Bowman was living within his means, wouldn’t he have some savings? If so, why the “fear of missing billing goals that would cost him pay”? Mr. Bowman probably had a decent health insurance plan that included coverage for counseling and psychological help. Did he take advantage of this? Did Mr. Bowman ever think about talking to his immediate supervisor when he first started noticing the intolerable pressures at work? Why didn’t Mr. Bowman talk to his supervisor about perhaps reducing his workload?

It appears that Mr. Bowman, not unlike many others, closed himself off from the people who could help him and from the people who cared for him as he started self-medication via drinking. His response to the pressures at work was a solid game plan for failure and for self-destruction.

DenMan7
http://www.Alcohol-Recovery-Info.com

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