ABA CoLAP

The American Bar Association has taken the lead in addressing a critical challenge facing the legal profession -- how to assist lawyers in dealing with alcoholism, other addictions, stress, depression and compulsive gambling.

The legal profession has long struggled with the question of how to help lawyers whose practices have been impaired by addictions and depression. In 1988, the American Bar Association created the Commission on Impaired Attorneys to assist in grappling with the problems of alcoholism. In August 1996, the Commission changed its name to the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and expanded its services to include stress, depression, compulsive gambling and other mental health problems.

Chaired this year by Edwin L. Blewer, Jr., of Shreveport, Louisiana, the Commission's primary goal is to advance the legal community's knowledge of impairments facing lawyers and its confidential helping response to those issues. It does this by educating the bar and the public about lawyer impairment, offering technical assistance and resources to state and local lawyer assistance programs and providing effective and confidential outreach to lawyers, judges, and their families.

The work of the Commission has been a great success. In 1980, there were four state or local lawyer assistance programs with full or part time staff, and 26 volunteer state bar lawyer assistance committees. Today all 50 states have developed lawyer assistance programs or committees that are focused on quality of life issues, and use intervention, peer counseling and referrals to 12-step programs to assist in a lawyer's recovery process.

Any of these lawyer assistance programs (LAPS) can request and receive program evaluation services from the Commission. An evaluation team consisting of a LAP volunteer and director reviews the financial operation, services provided, volunteer involvement, and cooperative measures between the LAP and the bar association. Following the evaluation, the Commission provides a report with recommendations for expanding and/or improving the program.

To ensure expertise on establishing and operating lawyer assistance programs, the Commission hosts an annual workshop for lawyers and health care professionals on how to organize, sustain, and expand such programs. The workshop focuses on confidentiality, reentry into practice, the legal repercussions of addiction (including the Americans with Disabilities Act) and the present state of medical and scientific research on addiction. The 12th national workshop will take place on September 29 - October 1, 1999 in southern Washington near Portland, Oregon.

To spotlight effective lawyer assistance, the Commission has developed two awards. The Executive Director Award is given to bar association executive directors for outstanding assistance to their lawyer assistance programs. The State Court Judge Appreciation Award honors enlightened judges who publicly support lawyer assistance programs in a variety of ways.

The Commission has also developed and maintains a national clearinghouse on lawyer assistance programs and case law about addiction, depression, and mental health problems. It has developed multiple models and guidelines for state and local programs. In 1995, the ABA adopted a Model Lawyer Assistance Program. The Commission's latest model is its Model Recovery Monitoring Program, which provides basic guidelines for use by law firms and disciplinary and licensing agencies when they consider placing a lawyer on some form of probation. These guidelines have been drawn from experiences in states with existing programs and are designed to facilitate effective monitoring of sobriety in the real world.

The Commission's quarterly newsletter, Highlights, provides LAPs with the latest developments available to assist lawyers with chemical dependencies or mental health problems. The Commission also publishes a Directory of Lawyer Assistance Programs, which lists state and local bar association programs addressing a range of personal problems experienced by lawyers. Its 1997 Survey of Lawyer Assistance Programs provides comprehensive information from lawyer assistance programs throughout the United States and Canada.

Through LAPs established by bar associations in all 50 states, Canada, Puerto Rico and Great Britain, the Commission, ably assisted by staff director Donna Spilis, will continue to educate and serve the profession, as well as protect the public from harm by lawyers suffering from addiction and mental health problems. For further information on the Commission's work, please email or telephone 312/988-5359.