Alrighty, folks! This is an interesting thread to me, although I could not stand the practice of law. I apologize in advance for the lengthy post, but I'm essentially giving into temptation and I'm about to tell you my life story ;) since this topic and your questions apply to me in so many ways: law student, lawyer, taking the Bar with accommodations, now working with law students with disabilities, including many with PTSD and other psychological disabilities.
@cat-lady, I'm SO GLAD you found your way to the disability resource program at your school, AND that they worked fast and clearly understood what was needed. I am the Director of the program at my alma mater, a stand-alone law school, and would be happy to talk with you more about accommodations in law school or on the Bar exam.
I am a recovering lawyer. I have cPTSD from childhood abuse/trauma. I also have Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and ADHD. I didn't have a formal Dx of any of these at the time I decided to go to law school, but I knew that I had suffered from depression and PTSD in the past, and had done a lot of therapy around my childhood.
My MDD & PTSD were pretty manageable just before law school and during the first two years. Then we (my wife & I) were hit by a drunk driver my second summer, and our lives have never been the same. I had accommodations my last year of law school and on the Bar. The pain and shock of that trauma kicked off a major depressive episode, reemergence of PTSD symptoms, and a lot of fall-out from all of that for about a 7-year period in my 30s (uh, hello, when I should have been working my ass off to establish my career or at least pay off my student loans!) :banghead::banghead::banghead:
After law school I spent a couple of years practicing family law. I thought since I had been a social worker in New York City that I had seen families at their worst. Handling rich people's divorce completely screwed my head up. I went out on disability for a year and turned my back on the law. I was marginally employed for another 4-5 years, but continued to have significant difficulty performing at even the "perfect" non-legal, education/social service jobs.
During that time my wife and I raised her little sister (I was the primary caretaker), and I became interested in special education advocacy. As my kid grew up, my focus switched from K-12 to postsecondary education and disability law as a civil rights issue. And now, THANK GOD, I love what I do.
What I wish I knew "back then" is the following:
* Should have stuck with the primary passion of my entire life: psychology, or at least pursued a dual-degree program like I originally intended
* That I had ADHD, inattentive type. That Dx didn't come
Link Removed years after graduation, and was life-changing. Made me take responsibility for finding different strategies to get shit done, but also helped me accept that there are some things I'm just not good at, and to stay the hell away from jobs that require those skills.
* That having a prior history of recurring major depressive episodes makes one more vulnerable, and more likely to have recurrences in the future. Knowing that, I might have paid more attention to self-care.
* That passion for a particular field, as well as skill in a particular subject, was not enough for me to "make it" as an attorney. I had to realize that even in the social justice areas that I was/am so passionate about, the actual day-to-day work of an attorney was essentially the same.
Also, just my experience, but I felt like in law, they valued the following characteristics: speed, brevity & perfection (a misplaced comma can royally f*ck up an entire contract.) I can be damn near perfect, but it ain't gonna be quick, and brevity is not my strong suit (but you probably figured that out already.) In contrast, psychology and psychotherapy value intuition, nuance, and delving deeply into a subject. Plays much better with my particular blend of strengths and interests.
* How to spot a bad boss/bad workplace environment. Figuring out what it was about those two sole practitioners I worked for right out of law school that so unraveled my professional self-confidence was critical. Now, I know what to look for and what to look out for in any job, or any supervisor.
Okay, I'll quit soon. I have 3 things that I encourage all my students to do (and I try to remember to take my own advice): (1) find your tribe (don't let the super competitive mean girls get to you; find caring, compassionate like-minded souls who will accept you as you are); (2) prioritize sleep, and if you can't sleep at least get some rest. Don't lay in bed panicking, but don't get up and start studying at 3 am if you're already mentally maxed out; (3) move your body, stay physically active. We all know you have to work and read amen study looong hours. Break up those 8-12 hour marathon sessions with a walk around the block, some yoga stretches, push ups,squats and sit ups, etc. it's part of your study strategy.
Okay, I'm done. Thanks for hanging with me!:sleep:
Let me know,
@cat-lady, if you want to talk one-on-one about anything, especially requesting accommodations on the Bar exam.
