Lawyer’s Career Ruined by Video Game Addiction
Scotticus ORLYus | 25 Aug 2011 | 2:39 AM CST (-6 GMT)
initially via: Neatorama
http://www.neatorama.com/2011/08/23/lawyer-disbarred-for-addiction-to-video-games/
Legitimate details to this story are rather scattered. According to Neatorama and The Escapist, [apparently] former attorney Mathew Eshelman was outright disbarred from further practice in the state of Pennsylvania. However, according to sources geographically closer to the story, he’s been suspended for 3 years. The one thing that can be safely determined is that Mathew Eshelman has blamed an addiction to video games for the consequences of his actions. That and his career is probably shot. Now, when we say ‘consequence of his actions’ we mean he was apparently fired from a firm in 2007 for shoddy work; Mr Eshelman said it was because of his addition to video games. As part of the Pennsylvania state disciplinary panel’s 89 page report on the matter, he was found to have mishandled 17 cases, including bankruptcy, divorce, and debt collection; Mr. Eshelman said it was because of his addiction to video games. Said report apparently also went on to say Eshelman started his career as a competent and respected colleague, but “reacted to the pressures of practice as well as the pressures of a troubled home life by retreating into a world of computer and video games.” Additionally, Eshelman is reported as having admitted to falsifying dates on a divorce case and encouraging the divorcing couple to lie to the judge, after they complained about extensive processing delays on Eshelman’s part.
In the end, all of this translates to a conscious choice of action—sense of scale and consequence notwithstanding. Mr. Eshelman was under pressure that was greater than what he could manage. His coping mechanism was apparently video games, though, there’s not been much in the way of actual proof cited anywhere. Perhaps the 89 page report has better supply of facts; one would certainly hope so. But, the fact remains that video games were not drawing him away. He made his own exit from the scene, games or not. Any kind of habit resultant from that is not directly the effect of any video game. It would be appreciated if people and professions were more conscious of that fact.
