Overworked, Young Biglaw Associate Dies By Suicide In New York

'We all knew he was cracking,' said a fellow associate.

By Staci Zaretsky

at 2:01 PM

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Today, we must report on some unfortunate news from New York, where an associate in Dechert’s New York office was found dead just last week. Sources say the associate died by suicide.

Cameron Schladenhauffen, 31, a 2015 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, was an associate at Dechert, where he worked in the firm’s real estate practice group, concentrating on commercial real estate finance. Schladenhauffen had lateraled to the firm from Dentons a little over one year ago.

Insiders tell us that Schladenhauffen was incredibly stressed at the firm, but “had to keep working as he deteriorated mentally.” According to one of his fellow associates, “We all knew he was cracking, but we thought he’d probably just quit eventually.” Others lamented that if only Schladenhauffen had been given a leave of absence, perhaps he’d still be with us today.

A spokesperson from the firm released this statement on Schladenhauffen’s death:

We are profoundly saddened about Cameron’s passing, which is a loss to all who knew him at the firm. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.

Cameron Schladenhauffen (Photo via LinkedIn)

Lawyers are more likely to suffer from depression than any other profession, but they often suffer in silence for fear of alerting their colleagues about their mental health conditions. It should be easier for lawyers to take leaves of absence from their firms, and the incredible mental health resources out there for attorneys who need them should be highlighted by their firms. For example, the Lawyers Depression Project is an online support group for lawyers and other members of the legal profession that was started by a Biglaw partner with depression. The stigma against seeking — and providing — help must come to an end. Life is more than a billable hour, and law firms should acknowledge the fact that they must help attorneys in need of mental health assistance.

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We here at Above the Law would like to extend our condolences to Cameron Schladenhauffen’s family, friends, and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.

If you or someone you know is depressed and in need help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or a lawyer assistance program in your state (don’t be fooled by the name; these programs also provide services to law students). Remember that you are loved, so please reach out if you need assistance.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37787957)

LJL at biglaw firm culture

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37788674)

Oh what a dream come true!

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37787997)

You guessed it-- TLS

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37788192)

Poor guy

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37788170)

it's not high iq work, but having a high iq makes it much easier.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37788227)

You know how in mental hospitals they have the chill out patient wing, the depressing inpatient wing, and then finally the basement with the padded walls for the truly unreachable? Yeah, we're in Sub Basement 3.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37788418)

An obituary detailing Schladenhauffen’s life detailed his love of comedy and laughter and noted he was described by many as “the funniest person they ever met.”

“His energy and humor always made him the center of attention, and he never failed to make even the toughest of crowds laugh,” the obituary read.

According to the obituary, Schladenhauffen was elected as head writer for Libel, his law school’s annual sketch comedy show, for which he wrote and acted during all three years. And he didn’t give up on comedy once becoming a lawyer. According to the obituary, he recently submitted an application to the NBC network for their “Late Night with Seth Meyers” show writers program. The obituary noted that, after moving to New York to become a lawyer, the Alaska native was “living the dream.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37789580)

https://abovethelaw.com/2019/02/biglaw-associate-suicide/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37789869)

https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2019/02/15/dechert-associate-dies-no-indication-of-foul-play-found/?slreturn=20190116001042

Dechert Associate Dies, No Indication of Foul Play Found

(Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)

An associate in Dechert’s New York office died at a New York City residence last week, police reports and the firm confirmed.

Cameron Schladenhauffen, 31, died Feb. 8, according to an obituary published in the Northwest Florida Daily News.

According to the New York City Police Department, police responded to a 911 call of an unconscious person inside an apartment on East 17th St. at 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 8. Police discovered a 31-year-old male, unconscious on his bed, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said no weapon or visible injuries were found.

“There is no criminality suspected,” the police department said in an emailed statement. The medical examiner said a determination on the cause of death is still pending.

Dechert did not answer questions about the circumstances of Schladenhauffen’s death. A firm spokesperson said, “We are profoundly saddened about Cameron’s passing, which is a loss to all who knew him at the firm. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”

While his bio has been taken down from Dechert’s website, a previous version of it notes that Schladenhauffen was an associate in the firm’s commercial real estate finance practice. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined the firm in December 2017 from Dentons, where he had practiced since graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2015.

Cameron SchladenhauffenAccording to his biography, Schladenhauffen focused his practice on real estate finance, representing investment banks and institutional lenders in the origination, syndication, purchase and sale of loans. His experiences included drafting and negotiating loan agreements, term sheets and other ancillary loan documents.

An obituary detailing Schladenhauffen’s life detailed his love of comedy and laughter and noted he was described by many as “the funniest person they ever met.”

“His energy and humor always made him the center of attention, and he never failed to make even the toughest of crowds laugh,” the obituary read.

According to the obituary, Schladenhauffen was elected as head writer for Libel, his law school’s annual sketch comedy show, for which he wrote and acted during all three years. And he didn’t give up on comedy once becoming a lawyer. According to the obituary, he recently submitted an application to the NBC network for their “Late Night with Seth Meyers” show writers program. The obituary noted that, after moving to New York to become a lawyer, the Alaska native was “living the dream.”

The family has asked that donations in Schladenhauffen’s name be made to The Comedy Cures Foundation, which provides therapeutic entertainment to people living with illness, depression, trauma or disabilities, according to its website.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790691)

https://youtu.be/uhq6D_9qMmE

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790057)

This one always stuck with me:

https://abovethelaw.com/2011/06/in-re-the-passing-of-a-skadden-associate/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790116)

dood, real estate finance is objectively shitty. it's not you. just walk away. it's ok to quit something that shitty.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790166)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790733)

ATL Broke this, but this has been their status quo for a while.

Essentially, if you only had good reviews as a summer, you'll have no idea but they will hire add'l LLM's and if they're slow before they start, some summers will go and it is what it is.

Having a return offer at Dechert isn't really a return offer. Technically, it's always at will but Dechert uses the fact you assume that it's not to essentially draw in a large enough class that they will get a bunch of people if they need a lot or be able to lay a bunch off without much added cost.

You would be foolish to treat an offer here like an offer elsewhere. It's a great firm and great place to start your career. Off the record, the assumptions about the industry are used to your disadvantage. It's not that first years are fired because they couldn't cut it or didn't get enough work.

9 out of 10 of these laid off first years were going to be laid off before they started. It's not "we couldn't get you busy". It's that when they were stressing for the bar, they were already on a list.

It's a great place to work if you're 100% that your exit interview "everyone loved you" means everyone loved you "1st or 2nd most". You can't just be good enough. If you bank on just doing a good job and fitting in, your career may be over before it starts. This is not big law. This is Dechert.

YOU WILL BE SOLICITED BY TRANSITION SERVICES. I WAS CALLED THE SAME DAY, AND TOLD NOT TO CONTACT ANYONE AT THE FIRM ABOUT IT OR ANYONE ELSE OR THAT EVEN TELLING FAMILY CAN MAKE IT HARDER TO FIND ANOTHER JOB.

YOUR "TRANSITION SERVICES" ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW NICE THE FIRM WAS TO PAY FOR TRANSITION SERVICES, AND THE IMPORTANCE AS PRIORITY 1, 2 AND 3 OF NO ONE ELSE FINDING OUT DECHERT LAID ANYONE OFF.

You will also be pulled from the website early as the firm's policy is to "move away from time on the website and severance".

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790785)

No, but I was told in no uncertain times if this got on ATL, I'm done, career done, lawsuit, etc. I got calls about it saying essentially if I told family and it somehow got on ATL, that would be bad so that would be bad so don't tell my family. I'm pretty sure they knew I posted on TLS so focused on me - this was a little while ago. This has been ongoing, and today ATL found out so what I'm saying if they don't come forward, the people like me will be blamed. This isn't a white shoe firm. If you wouldn't go blow to blow with a Jacoby & Meyers partner because they sketch you out, picture that x10. If they have a decent bone in their body, come forward.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790788)

Over the last two months, Dechert has laid off the only three first-year associates I knew there. All have spent under 11 months with the firm. Two in NY, one in a secondary market.

I say this only to say that unless my friends are posting in this thread (highly unlikely), what Dechert is doing/did is fucked up and probably more widespread than everyone thought. Never really hit until it happens to people you know/care about. These firms don't give a fuck about you.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790796)

I was one of the first years let go, and can offer some perspective on this. Litigation is forthcoming about their layoffs. In transactional, we were strongly warned against even telling others in our group that we were being let go. I was told in no uncertain terms that the group and firm has had major economic issues and these were the reasons for my being let go. Work had been slow for everyone since I started, and I was basically told that I just wasn't as well liked. There would have been no way to predict any of this going in.

I applaud the litigation group for being open about it. While I don't think any Dechert group offers standard severance packages (re comp and website time), it's somewhat easier to bounce back if it's known that a particular group is struggling. The idea that anyone else has an ax to grind is untrue and offensive. Anyone posting on here has better and more personally pressing things to do with their time, and is incurring risk to do so. The endeavor is simply to help young people make good choices. This isn't to say that it isn't a great firm, and a 3L return offer is never 100% guaranteed. It's about degrees of risk, not risk versus no risk.

My sense is the root cause may be structural. Namely, Dechert works on a few mega deals and work tends to be feast or famine, which often leads to under/over-hiring. Both the firm and law students would probably be better served if Dechert reduced its summer program from ~50 summers firm-wide to around ~20 and relied on contract attorneys when the need arises. The firm's business structure precludes it from being able to support the number of attorneys that it has for any long term period, which is why there's so much turnaround and dissatisfaction.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37790807)

The February death of Dechert associate Cameron Schladenhauffen was an accident caused by a combination of several drugs, a medical examiner has found.

Schladenhauffen died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin, clonazepam, oxazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, temazepam and codeine,” a spokesperson for the New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner said in an email.

Clonazepam, oxazepam, diazepam, alprazolam and temazepam are all benzodiazepines, a class of prescription drugs that are sometimes prescribed for the treatment of anxiety or depression, as well as some other conditions. Codeine is a prescription pain medication.

Schladenhauffen, 31, died Feb. 8 at a residence in New York.

His father, Benjamin Schladenhauffen of Niceville, Florida, said in an interview Tuesday that his son had been experiencing acute stress in the year leading up to his death. He said they spoke about three times a week, and he was never aware that his son ever abused drugs.

Schladenhauffen said his son had described receiving assignments from multiple Dechert offices with deadlines that were difficult to meet, sometimes causing him to work through the night. He said his son had told him he pulled two all-nighters in a row to finish his work on one occasion.

“I think that was the darkest point in his life,” his father said of Cameron Schladenhauffen’s final year. He also said, “I’m not blaming anyone” for his son’s death.

A spokesperson for Dechert said in an emailed statement Tuesday, “We continue to grieve for Cameron and our thoughts are with his family during this incredibly difficult time.”

Benjamin Schladenhauffen said his son loved to write, which led to his interest in becoming an attorney. His introduction to the profession was working with a criminal defense attorney in Tallahassee before he entered law school.

After graduating from law school at the University of Virginia in 2015, Cameron Schladenhauffen got a job at Dentons in New York, his father said, and “did well there.”

He pursued a job at Dechert because it was a market leader in associate pay, his father said. According to his LinkedIn profile, Schladenhauffen joined Dechert’s New York office in December 2017.

Cameron Schladenhauffen Cameron Schladenhauffen.

According to his biography from Dechert’s website, which was taken down soon after his death, Schladenhauffen was an associate in the firm’s commercial real estate finance practice. He represented investment banks and institutional lenders in the origination, syndication, purchase and sale of loans, the biography said.

Outside of his legal career, Schladenhauffen had a love for comedy, his father said.

“He loved making people laugh. That was his whole thing,” he said.

An obituary published in the Northwest Florida Daily News said Schladenhauffen had submitted an application to the NBC network for its “Late Night with Seth Meyers” show writers program not long before his death.

According to information the New York City Police Department provided in February, police responded to a 911 call of an unconscious person inside an apartment on East 17th St. at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 8. Police discovered a 31-year-old male, unconscious on his bed, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said no weapon or visible injuries were found.

Stress and substance abuse in the legal profession have attracted increasing concern in recent years, as law firms face growing evidence that lawyers are disproportionately affected by depression and substance abuse.

Among those whose struggles with drugs became public was a Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati lawyer who died in 2015, and whose ex-wife wrote about his drug addiction and his obsession with work in a 2017 article for The New York Times.

Last year, the American Bar Association launched its Working Group to Advance Well-Being in the Legal Profession. As part of that effort, 90 legal employers so far have signed a pledge to support the campaign and adopt its framework for addressing mental health and substance abuse in the legal profession. Dechert signed the pledge this year.

Dechert’s spokesperson said the firm is “committed to creating a supportive and open culture where we encourage everyone to raise issues about mental health and stress-related problems.” In addition to signing the ABA pledge, the firm said it offers training for employee volunteers from Mental Health First Aid International, through which more than 50 people from Dechert have become mental health advocates so far.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37995605)

Schladenhauffen died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin, clonazepam, oxazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, temazepam and codeine,” a spokesperson for the New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner said in an email

Schladenhauffen died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin, clonazepam, oxazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, temazepam and codeine,” a spokesperson for the New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner said in an email

Schladenhauffen died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin, clonazepam, oxazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, temazepam and codeine,” a spokesperson for the New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner said in an email

Schladenhauffen died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin, clonazepam, oxazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, temazepam and codeine,” a spokesperson for the New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner said in an email

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37995987)

He pursued a job at Dechert because it was a market leader in associate pay, his father said. According to his LinkedIn profile, Schladenhauffen joined Dechert’s New York office in December 2017.

He pursued a job at Dechert because it was a market leader in associate pay, his father said. According to his LinkedIn profile, Schladenhauffen joined Dechert’s New York office in December 2017.

He pursued a job at Dechert because it was a market leader in associate pay, his father said. According to his LinkedIn profile, Schladenhauffen joined Dechert’s New York office in December 2017.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4202369&forum_id=2#37995997)