Lawyers’ Assistance Programs

Contributing Author: Michael Sneeringer is a partner in the Naples, Florida, office of Porter Wright. He is Probate & Property’s Articles Editor for Trust and Estate and the group chair of the RPTE Section’s Non-Tax Estate Planning Considerations Group. He is a Director of Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc. The opinions and materials contained herein do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc. Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Lawyers Assistance Committee. See Annual Reports, https://bit.ly/3eXWe7g.

Lawyers’ Assistance Programs—A Primer

What is a lawyers’ assistance program, and how can it benefit lawyers, law students, judges, and paralegals? Is it confidential? And why should RPTE members take notice of this article?

Types of Lawyers’ Assistance Programs

In general, a lawyers’ assistance program provides confidential services and support to judges, lawyers, paralegals, and law students (participants) who face substance use disorders or mental health issues. See https://bit.ly/3eZs1F0. At last count, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had a program for lawyers.

In some states, the program is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) affiliated with the state bar. See, e.g., Ohio’s Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program, Inc., https:// www.ohiolap.org/about. Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc. (FLA) stresses that it is independent of the Florida Bar but receives funding from the Florida Bar. See Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc., https://www.fla-lap.org/what-we-do. Pennsylvania’s Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers program (PLCL) website stresses that it is an independent, nonprofit corporation run by judges and lawyers. PLCL’s Annual Report emphasizes that it receives funding from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the

In other states, the program is a direct member service. See, e.g., Wisconsin Lawyers Assistance Program (WisLAP), https://bit.ly/3F1Nk35. In some states, a direct affiliation between the bar and program is present, but the funding is provided by the state bar in other states.

These state bar programs differ from traditional rehabs or organizations geared toward substance use disorders. Although a state bar program may help a lawyer find treatment, provide a personalized treatment plan, and refer legal professionals to qualified healthcare professionals, it does not offer inpatient treatment at a facility. See, e.g., Addiction Treatment for Professionals, Hazelden Betty Ford, https://bit. ly/3n3kcm2.

Attorneys who contact lawyer assistance programs are not always put into one bucket. For example, a state may differentiate further among young lawyers, lawyers, and aging lawyers and consider how the different needs of lawyers who are just starting their careers differ from the needs of lawyers who are well into retirement age. See, e.g., Florida Lawyers Assistance, “Aging Lawyers,” https://www.fla-lap. org/aging-lawyers. Different approaches may be used for speaking with diverse age groups.

Is My Inquiry Confidential?

Participants’ inquiries are confidential. For example, WisLAP informs potential participants that each request for help is treated with the same confidentiality as a lawyer-client relationship. See Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Lawyers Assistance Program, https://bit.ly/3t1ia9R. It notes that WisLAP is exempt from reporting professional misconduct to the Office of Lawyer Regulation under Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule 20:8.3(c)(2) and the Judicial Commission under Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule 60.04(3). Id. Furthermore, it does not require callers to its 1-800 number to disclose their identity or keep any case records. Id. Likewise, the OLAP, PLCL, and FLA websites cite state bar rules indicating the protection of those who contact those programs for help.

Why Would I Inquire?

Attorneys are under an enormous amount of stress to perform their best. Often, that stress begins in law school, as it is the most challenging academic exercise that many students have ever experienced. Stress, anxiety, depression, alcohol and substance use, and other mental health disorders can all be present around the ages where many begin their law school or law practice journeys. Instead of internalizing those issues or paying for outside help (as a means of the first resort), a law student, attorney, paralegal, or judge can initiate the confidential services. There may be a helping and listening ear, directions to the nearest lawyer’s assistance meeting, or, in emergent cases, a referral to a hospital or other necessary third party for treatment.

For some, the stigma of stress, anxiety, depression, alcohol, and substance use often keeps them from seeking help. Others practice law or attend a law school in a small community—they are concerned with privacy. Contacting a state’s lawyers assistance program is a solution to both concerns. On the one hand, the initial contact points are trained on how to relax the inquirers used to being stigmatized for the way they feel. On the other hand, for the person seeking privacy, the point of the initial contact from within the program is often (not always) located outside his or her legal circle. Nonetheless, any communication with a lawyer’s assistance program is confidential.

Why Is This in an RPTE Publication?

As part of the Section’s Special Committee on Career Development & Wellness, lawyers must remember that they are not alone. As a trusts and estates lawyer, I can report that sometimes these attorneys hear and see things that weigh heavily on an attorney’s mind. Though I do not practice real estate law and am not an expert on that area of the law, I observe that real estate lawyers face similar challenges (such as a closing that goes wrong or a deadline getting missed). Accordingly, what confidential outlet would I have to express or unload some of this stress?

As a benefit of being in the practice of law, if things get tough, consider picking up the phone and dialing one of those state lawyers’ assistance programs’ 1-800 numbers. Sure, it feels weird at first. “I am a quitter,” or “I am weak” or “I will get through this” might go through your head. “How can I trust this stranger on the other line of the telephone?” creeps into your mind. But to eliminate the daily pain and suffering, sometimes we need to take that valuable first step. And if you are in the middle of your legal training—a paralegal, a lawyer, or a judge—a loving voice on the other end of a call to the state lawyer’s assistance program may get you the help you seek.

Published in Probate & Property, Volume 36, No 2 © 2022 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.