Q&A with Brandeis Professor Jones featured in MCCA's Diversity and the Bar publication

A Q&A with Brandeis School of Law Professor Jim Jones was featured in the May/June issue of Diversity and the Bar, published by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

The feature was published as part of the Lawyer’s Lantern series and focuses on Jones’ “biggest accomplishment” of becoming a tenured full professor while secretly living with severe bipolar disorder.

Jones told the publication he went public with his illness in 2004 after experiencing a "massive breakdown," which caused him to be unable to work for nine months.

"… People who are legal academics with mental illness need to know that they are not alone … People in the profession can have a mental illness and still be successful law professors or lawyers," Jones told the publication.

Jones also talks about the high rates of depression among law students, stating that 40 percent are depressed by graduation.

"The more we can come out, the more people might say maybe we’re no different from any other people," he said.