Career and work
Vickers has worked as a lawyer, mental health advocate, and educator in Florida. In the late 1990s, she and fellow lawyer Ernst Mueller petitioned for mental illness awareness to be added to The Florida Bar’s continuing legal education rules. The proposal was approved by the Bar’s Board of Governors and later by the Florida Supreme Court. [2]
She has also taught mental health education programs for lawyers and participated in organizations and conferences focused on mental illness, law, and civil rights. [3][2]
What has been publicly discussed
- Vickers has publicly identified herself as living with bipolar disorder. In a 2025 letter to The Florida Bar News, she described herself as “an attorney living with bipolar disorder.” [1]
- She has spoken publicly about her diagnosis for many years through legal education and mental health advocacy. [3][2]
- Vickers experienced a manic episode in 1988 and was subsequently diagnosed with what was then described as manic depression. Around the same period, Vickers went through a painful divorce. [2]
- After her 1988 manic episode, Vickers received counseling and medication. She has said that these helped her remain stable and that she did not experience another manic episode in the years that followed. [2]
- Vickers has said that she remained stable for many years after her 1988 manic episode and continued her legal career. [2]
- Vickers has advocated for greater understanding of mental illness within the legal profession. She helped lead the effort to make mental illness awareness an approved continuing legal education topic for Florida lawyers and has spoken publicly about stigma, discrimination, and the importance of education. [3][2]
“The time has come to stop treating people with mental illnesses as though they're witches or as though they're somehow unfit.”
— Angela D. Vickers [2]
Sources and other resourcesExpand to view the sources used in this profile and resources to learn more.
Sources used for this profile
The following sources contain information that supports the claims made on this page.
The Florida Bar News“June 1, 2025 Letters” A first-person letter in which Vickers describes herself as “an attorney living with bipolar disorder” and discusses the continuing need for mental illness education within the legal profession.
The Florida Bar News“Mental health education will serve lawyers well” A detailed profile covering Vickers’s 1988 manic episode, diagnosis of manic depression, counseling and medication, long-term stability, and effort to add mental illness awareness to Florida’s continuing legal education rules.
Psychiatric News“Judges Educate Colleagues About Mental Illness” Describes Vickers as a lawyer and mental health advocate with bipolar disorder and documents her work promoting mental illness education within the legal system.
Learn more
Recommended books and other resources about Angela D. Vickers and their experiences.