Maryland Bar
Bulletin
Publications :
Bar Bulletin
Editor: W. Patrick Tandy
April, 2004
| LAP ZONE |
The
MSBA Lawyer Assistance Program's
Summary Report for 2003 |
| By Carol
P. Waldhauser |
It has been
estimated that 15-20 percent of American lawyers have problems that
threaten their ability to continue to practice their profession. At least
two-thirds of those lawyers have problems caused by drug and alcohol
abuse; the remaining third has mental health problems that are often
exacerbated by work-related stress unique to lawyers.
Consequently,
hundreds of individuals within Maryland’s legal community may suffer from
the effects of alcohol and substance abuse in addition to other
mental/emotional health issues. The afflicted include not only practicing
lawyers but judges and law students as well. This circumstance causes
incalculable human suffering not only to those who are afflicted but also
their families, friends and colleagues. Just as important from a
regulatory standpoint, impaired practitioners pose an obvious risk to
their clients.
Consider the following:
- In a survey of
105 occupations, lawyers ranked first in experiencing depression – four
times more likely to be depressed than the general public.
- The number of
practicing lawyers with alcohol or drug problems is twice that of the
national average.
- The American Bar
Association has concluded that substance abuse exists in at least 50
percent of cases where disciplinary complaints are brought against
lawyers.
- Many states have
determined that there is a high correlation between substance abuse and
disciplinary cases involving misuse of client funds.
Like other chronic
diseases, mental health problems and addiction are treatable, and because
of their progressive nature early detection and treatment is
overwhelmingly desirable.
The MSBA Lawyer
Assistance Program (LAP) provides a compassionate safety net for impaired
members of the legal community, thereby protecting the public from the
results of attorney wrongdoing stemming from substance abuse or
mental/emotional problems.
Because lawyers
spend the bulk of their time attempting to manage other people’s problems,
they often ignore their own. Indeed, the “adversarial” legal culture often
seems to promote this approach. The day-to-day pressures of effective
legal practice coupled with ongoing personal responsibilities often result
in chronic difficulties.
Person by person,
LAP has reached out to help over 2,000 lawyers, judges, law students and
support personnel. LAP does this by identifying problems, facilitating
treatment and supporting ongoing individual recovery. In this way, LAP has
effectively shielded clients and the general public from the potentially
devastating effects of a disease before they reach fruition. To that end,
LAP offers the following services:
- Assessment and
Referral – A trained and experienced member of the LAP staff or its Core
Group of attorney committee members will meet with the attorney to
assist in evaluating the problem and recommend available treatment and
rehabilitation options. For referral purposes, LAP maintains an
extensive, up-to-date network of licensed health-care professionals,
including Marworth in Pennsylvania, the Betty Ford Clinic in California,
Father Martin’s Ashley, Crossroads Center, Shephard Pratt and Partners
in Recovery, all in Maryland.
- Interventions –
In appropriate situations, a member of the staff or Core Group will
plan, rehearse and facilitate a formal intervention to assist with the
impaired person.
- Peers Support
Network – The person in need of assistance may be paired with a lawyer
from the committee and in the person’s area as a mentor to help them
deal with the recovery process.
- Structured
Rehabilitation Program – In cases involving attorney discipline or
admissions problems, LAP will implement a structured rehabilitation
program which can document a client’s recovery efforts and success.
- Support Meetings
– LAP sponsors weekly and monthly meetings where LAP clients help each
other manage their personal recovery efforts.
Moreover, since
2001 LAP has begun to receive formal referrals from the Attorney Grievance
Commission pursuant to the Conditional Diversion Agreement (CDA) program
outlined in Maryland Rule 16-736. Although received through this program,
these lawyers are offered the full range of services and support
identified above, subject of course to the terms and requirements of their
personal CDA.
While the LAP staff
is the backbone and heart of the program, the peer professionals who are
members of LAP present a diverse group of lawyers in every sense of the
word. LAP members include several Circuit Court judges, while attorney
members have a wide-range of practice areas and are drawn from every
county in the state.
Confidentiality and LAP
To maximize LAP’s
effectiveness, its dealings with its clients are protected by statutorily
imposed confidentiality. Absolute confidentiality is one of the
cornerstones of the LAP program; it permits willing clients to be
completely honest with staff and Core Group members, allowing them on a
long-term basis to share in detail the nature of the specific problems
with which they struggle, without fear of public exposure. Confidentiality
is an integral element that permits the impaired to come to LAP and openly
discuss their problems. Without complete confidentiality, the LAP program
would be completely ineffective.
2003: the Year in Review
Evaluation and
planning are indispensable components of program management. Accordingly,
LAP annually gathers and reports operational data on service levels,
quality and quantity of outputs and cost-effectiveness of the program’s
operations. This information is summarized in this section.
Statistical Evaluation
During 2003, LAP
responded to well over 1,000 telephone calls and e-mails from judges,
lawyers, law students, their family members and business colleagues. Of
these communications, 85 became formal, long-term cases, 36 were formal,
long-term re-referrals, and 12 were short-term work/life issues. It is
important to note that of these, 30 percent concerned MSBA members while
70 percent did not. Gratifyingly, of the formal, long-term cases
opened in the year 2003, the largest number (38 percent) again came from
self-referrals, closely followed by lawyer referrals at 30 percent.
From this group,
problems addressed were as follows:
- Alcohol abuse:
48 percent
- Drug abuse
(other than alcohol): 10 percent
- Mental health:
31 percent
- Preventative: 11
percent
Education, Prevention & Public Relations
Education regarding
attorney impairment, treatment and relapse recovery remains one of the
primary goals of LAP. Other topics addressed include stress management,
depression, anxiety and retirement planning. Other addiction problems are
also being addressed, such as the Internet, sex, food, etc. Ongoing
education continues to bear fruit in terms of lives and careers saved.
Examples of such outreach by the staff include:
- University of
Baltimore School of Law (orientation, professionalism classes and other
functions)
- University of
Maryland School of Law (preparation workshop for Bar Application)
- Widener
University School of Law (orientation workshop)
- MSBA’s Annual
and Mid-Year Meetings (display and program)
- Professionalism
conference
- Solo-Small Firm
Conference
- New Judges
Workshop
- Public Defenders
Office seminar
- Paralegal
Association seminar
- Miscellaneous
small and large firm functions
Most importantly,
MSBA’s weekly Thursday night 12-step support group meeting (having
recently celebrated its third anniversary) continues to grow stronger,
averaging 20-25 individuals each week. Additionally, a Monday Meeting,
12 at 12, has been added, along with monthly brown bag luncheon
seminars.
Alcoholism, drug
addiction and other mental/emotional health issues continue to challenge
the entire legal profession and its quality of life. If you or someone you
know needs help, call us (800) 492-1964 or (410) 685-7878, ext. 3040/ext.
3041, or e-mail
cwaldhauser@msba.org.
