CNN (2/23, Holcombe) reports, “For decades, nearly every state has required law students to answer questions about their mental health treatment as part of the requirements before they can practice law,” and consequently, “according to one study, 45% of law students said they would be discouraged from seeking mental health treatment for fear that it would negatively affect bar admission.” Currently, New York, along with “38 other states,” has “questions regarding mental health on their character and fitness evaluations, according to the latest data from the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights.” Now, however, “a New York court is weighing whether to drop the question from the state’s bar application after a working group within the New York State Bar Association issued a report (PDF) in August calling for the removal of any questions about ‘mental history, diagnoses, or treatment.’” That report deemed “such questions…’unnecessary and ineffective in identifying applicants who are unfit and are likely to deter individuals from seeking mental health counseling and treatment.’”
Related Links:
— “Law students say they don’t get mental health treatment for fear it will keep them from becoming lawyers. Some states are trying to change that, ” Madeline Holcombe, CNN, February 23, 2020