ADAM: I was worried.
I was concerned that
the fact that I had a diagnosis
was going to prevent me
from becoming an attorney.
EMILY: Anyone who wants to practice law
has to take the bar exam,
but before they can even sit for the bar exam,
they have to fill out the bar application.
There are several questions on the application
that single out applicants
who have sought mental health treatment.
ARLENE: It's discriminatory on its face.
Period.
What it's showing again
is this presumption,
this false assumption,
that there's some correlation
between a label of mental illness
and incompetency to practice law.
That's never been proven.
It couldn't be proven
and it's illegal.
EMILY: Questions like these
are asked on the bar application
in 41 states.
ADAM: My name is Adam Tabor.
I currently work at a large law firm
in Washington D.C..
In the fall of 2009,
I was diagnosed
with Bipolar II.
Fast forward three years,
I graduate law school
and I apply for admission
to the North Carolina bar.
They asked expressly about
certain diagnoses.
EMILY: Applicants who have sought treatment
are forced to choose
between answering these questions
so they can enter their chosen profession
and exposing protected health information
and if you answer yes on that application,
the bar can then go and get
your protected health information,
your treatment records,
from your clinician.
ADAM: I answered the question honestly
and said this is my diagnosis.
I've been treated for it.
The end of May, or the beginning of June,
I get a thick envelope in the mail
that says: "You are hereby summoned
to a hearing before the North Carolina
Board of Law Examiners,"
I'd never received anything like that
in my entire life.
ANDY: The board of bar examiners
in a particular state
asks a question that's trying to identify
whether a lawyer is going to be a problem
from a character standpoint,
and they take kind of a wholesale question
like 'Have you ever been
treated for mental health?'
That has a built in assumption
that anybody who's ever seen a therapist
has a character flaw
that might be a problem
with them being an attorney.
EMILY: This is the legal profession.
Our job is to uphold and advocate for the law
on behalf of our clients
and if as a profession,
the front door to it has stigma
and raises questions about
whether or not it complies
with the Americans with Disabilities Act,
I find that really troubling.
ADAM: Not a lot of folks want to come forward,
especially if they're in the legal profession
or in law school
and talk openly about their diagnosis
because the stigma's out there.
ANDY: As somebody who has depression,
I can tell you there are lots and lots of attorneys,
practicing attorneys,
who have depression, anxiety, Bipolar Disorder...
any number of conditions,
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
and most of them don't feel comfortable
being open about it at work
because they're worried about the ramifications.
EMILY: Several states have changed their
bar application to stop asking applicants
about whether or not
they've sought mental health treatment.
Hopefully it'll start a trend nationally
that bar applications will follow.
ADAM: The hearings,
the releases of medical records,
the questions themselves,
all that does
is discourage people from seeking treatment
that they need.
ANDY: Until we get to a point
where lawyers are comfortable
being out at work,
comfortable asking for accommodations
that they need,
as a profession,
we're going to miss out
on that whole population,
changing public attitudes.
EMILY: Whether or not you're a lawyer
or you're even part of the legal community,
if you're an advocate interested in addressing
bias and discrimination for people with disabilities,
ask: "What's on my state bar application?"
If their questions are on your bar application,
you can reach out to members of your bar
and your community,
and say: "We need to question
why we're asking applicants.
and we need to stop this practice."
ARLENE: It's hard to fight it,
but we have to really keep on
and keep up the energy
because it's inexcusable
and painful.
Really painful.