Young Lawyers Division 2000-2001
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1999
Did You Know?
Lawyers Assistance Programs
By Gerardo Casanova
The ABA is here to help you. As young lawyers, we are under constant pressure. After three, sometimes four years, of arduous schoolwork, thinking that our financial and professional problems will be solved as soon as we graduate, soon we realize that graduating is just the beginning of a new set of challenges and problems: the race to partnership, deadlines, difficult clients, or personal fulfillment. The legal career path can be a hard one, with many obstacles to overcome. Now and then, we might get together with friends to drown our sorrows with a bottle of beer or celebrate a victory with a bottle of champagne. For most people, this is an occasional occurrence; for some, however, it becomes a debilitating way of coping with the stress and pressures of a lawyer's life.
Alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental health problems affect a great number of professionals, including lawyers and judges. Reports now estimate that while 10 percent of the general population has problems with alcohol abuse, anywhere from 15 to 18 percent of the legal population battles the same problem. Perhaps because many lawyers and judges are overachievers who carry an enormous workload, the tendency to "escape" from daily problems through the use of drugs and alcohol is more prevalent in the legal community than the general population. Also, the daily pressures placed on lawyers can lead to inordinate levels of stress and mental illness. Recent reports have shown that a majority of lawyer disciplinary problems involve chemical dependency or emotional stress.
To provide a model for assisting lawyers whose practices have been impaired by addictions, the American Bar Association created the Commission on Impaired Attorneys in 1988. In August 1996, its name was changed to the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) to better describe the Commission's expanded services to include stress, depression, and other mental health problems and to avoid any stigma that its former name may have carried. CoLAP's primary goal is to advance the legal community's knowledge of impairments facing lawyers and its response to those issues. The Commission consists of ten members, more than half of whom are recovering from chemical dependency. To date, the Commission has been quite successful in aiding the introduction and support of programs in both state and local bars. Whereas only twenty-six state bar programs addressing these issues existed in 1980, today all fifty states have developed lawyer assistance programs or committees focused on quality of life issues. These programs use everything from intervention, peer counseling, and referral to 12-Step Programs to assist in the lawyer's recovery process.
Objectives of the Commission
In 1988, the ABA Board of Governors established these priorities for the Commission on Impaired Attorneys (now the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs):1999 Directory of Lawyer Assistance Programs
- Education concerning lawyer addiction, depression, and mental health problems, and means of treatment;
- Development and maintenance of a national clearinghouse on lawyer assistance programs and the case law about addiction, depression, and mental health problems;
- Collection of state rules and opinions on confidentiality and immunity; and
- Development of a national network of lawyer assistance programs.
This updated directory from CoLAP lists state and local bar association programs addressing a range of personal problems experienced by lawyers. The 1997-1998 Directory: State and Local Lawyer Assistance Programs identifies about 100 bar association committee chairs and program managers. They are the contact persons for programs related to alcohol or drug dependencies, clinical depression, stress, gambling, marital and other domestic problems, and other personal problems. A special listing identifies lawyer assistance hotlines, many of which are toll-free, as well as resources such as the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism, the National Council on Alcoholism, International Lawyers in AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous. The directory is available for $25 from ABA Member-ship Services, 541 N. Fairbanks Court, Chicago, IL 60611, or by calling 312/988-5522. Orders should specify Product Code #319-0021.
Additional information is available from Donna Spilis, staff director for the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, by e-mail at spilisd@staff.abanet.org or by telephone at 312/988-5359.
Gerardo Casanova is an assistant editor of The Affiliate and practices law with Gerardo Casanova Tirado Law Office in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
