Lawyers Battle
Addictions, Depression and other Impairments with ArLAP
By Lynn Foster
Some of us have special
problems. We may drink so much in the evening that we "black out"
and the next day we can't remember what happened. We may arrive at the
office late every morning because depression makes the simple act of
getting out of bed a serious challenge. We may depend on Xanax to get
us through the day, and "up our dosage" on particularly stressful
days. A few of us enter a downward spiral exacerbated by chemicals or
addictive behaviors or depression that ends in the loss of our marriages,
or licenses, or lives.
Statistics show that approximately one
in ten adult Americans suffers from these types of problems. But for
us lawyers, impairment is twice this rate. It is estimated that one
in five lawyers suffer from alcohol or drug abuse and related disorders.i
Do you have such a person for a colleague? Or are you struggling with
these problems yourself? Arkansas now offers a program to help lawyers
recognize and identify their problems and find solutions within a confidential,
supportive network.
As I write this, Ms. Gail Harber is opening
an office at 2 Van Circle in Little Rock. She is the new director of
the Arkansas Lawyer Assistance Program (ArLAP). This article will discuss
the scope of the Arkansas program, how it works, and whether you, or
someone you know, can benefit from ArLAP.
BACKGROUND
In the last few decades, our society's
recognition of the costs of substance abuse, depression and similar
impairments has grown, and more resources have been devoted to assisting
people with these problems. In 1988, the American Bar Association created
the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP). CoLAP's mission
is to advance the legal community's knowledge of impairments facing
lawyers, and to support state and local bar association lawyer assistance
programs.1 All 50 states now have such programs.
Lawyer assistance programs offer lawyers
in trouble a chance to change their lives. Persons in the program receive
treatment and continuing assistance over time, working with trained
professional care providers and attorney volunteers who have had similar
problems. The most common impairments are alcohol and substance abuse
and depression. A significant percentage of attorneys refer themselves.
Colleagues, family members, or disciplinary agencies refer others.
In Arkansas, the impetus for ArLAP began
with attorneys in the Pulaski County Bar Association and the Arkansas
Bar Association. Both associations formed lawyer assistance committees,
which worked for the establishment of a statewide program under the
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court laid down the framework
of the program in a per curiam order issued December 7, 2000.2 In March
of 2001 the Arkansas Supreme Court created the Arkansas Lawyers Assistance
Program Committee, which was charged with establishing policies and
procedures for the program.3 In a per curiam order issued September
20, 2001, the Supreme Court published the procedure manual of ArLAP.4
There are many more people who deserve
recognition for the establishment of ArLAP than can be named in this
article, but some of the "prime movers" behind ArLAP include
Jim Smith, the current chair of the Arkansas Bar Association committee,
Judge Wayne Gruber, ex-President of the Pulaski County Bar Association,
Ron Harrison, President of the Arkansas Bar Association during 2000-2001,
Janet James Robb, current chair of the Supreme Court committee, and
past and present members of the Supreme Court and Arkansas Bar Association
committees.
SCOPE OF ARLAP
ArLAP is intended to help lawyers and
judges who suffer from physical or mental disabilities that result from:
disease, substance abuse, disorder, trauma, or age, and that impair
their ability to practice or serve.5 This article will refer to all
of these qualifying conditions as "impairments." Some behaviors
and disorders that could qualify as impairments include depression,
anxiety disorder, bi-polar disorder, gambling addiction, sex addiction,
and Alzheimer's Syndrome. Harber describes ArLAP as a "broad brush
program," emphasizing that its scope is inclusive. ArLAP will use
a wide array of services as well, ranging from advice to attorney mentors
to professional referrals to structured interventions to early identification
training. Rehabilitation support is also available. Harber emphasizes
the flexibility of the various treatments and possibilities available.
PRINCIPLES AND GOALS OF
ARLAP
Today we know that alcohol abuse, substance
abuse, and depression are treatable conditions. Oftentimes, similar
impairments like those brought on by age or trauma are as treatable
as well. Impaired lawyers are obligated to seek help and cooperate in
treatment in order to regain their full effectiveness. Every lawyer
and judge bears a responsibility to be aware of the signs and symptoms
of alcohol or substance abuse, and other impairments, and to assist
colleagues in getting treatment. ArLAP's goals are to assist lawyers
and judges in overcoming their impairments, in rebuilding their families,
and in returning to legal practice or the bench. In addition, ArLAP
also exists to educate the legal community about these impairments,
and about intervention, treatment and support programs.6
ASSISTANCE
How will ArLAP help? People can come to
ArLAP by several different routes. Lawyers who suspect or know that
they need help can contact ArLAP directly. Its office in Little Rock
is purposefully located far from bar associations and courts. Lawyers
can talk to a staff member who will listen to that lawyer's particular
situation, explore possibilities, and help craft a plan of action. This
may involve meeting with an attorney mentor who has had the same types
of problems, or getting help from a doctor or other professional. ArLAP
will make referrals and assist the attorney in finding the appropriate
agency.
Spouses, family members, colleagues, or
anyone who has first-hand information indicating that a lawyer is impaired
can contact ArLAP as well. While many impairments are diseases, they
are unlike physical diseases in this respect: many impaired individuals
are deep in denial, and will go to great lengths to avoid admitting
to themselves, let alone anyone else, that they have a problem. The
diseases affect thought processes; there is no such thing as an alcoholic
who is reasonable about his or her alcoholism. In some cases, ArLAP
will recommend a "structured intervention," where family,
friends and colleagues sit down with an individual in a professionally
led, supportive, nonjudgmental environment and try to motivate the individual
to seek help.
Finally, ArLAP will accept referrals from
the Arkansas Professional Conduct Committee, the Arkansas Judicial Discipline
and Disability Commission, or any agency with similar disciplinary authority.
The Committee will not accept anonymous referrals.
Once a referral is received, the Committee
will investigate to determine whether impairment exists. If impairment
is confirmed, the Director will arrange for a meeting with the attorney
or judge. The individual can sign a contract to participate in a treatment
plan of action, in which case his or her identity will remain anonymous.
Or the individual can refuse, in which case it is possible that the
attorney or judge may be reported to the appropriate disciplinary committee.
The contract can require entering into
an assessment, treatment center, treatment program, or hospital; abstention
from using alcohol or chemicals or destructive behaviors; compliance
with all assessment and treatment program recommendations and those
of the Director; and payment of all expenses. The care provider would
then carry out treatment or assessment. The Committee will monitor providers
and programs to make sure they conform to accepted standards of care.
Once treatment is completed, the recovery
process begins. The recovering lawyer or judge will be asked to sign
a recovery contract, which sets forth terms that the individual will
follow for at least three years. Recovery plans can include contacting
the Director upon release from treatment; random drug screening; documentation
of participation in twelve step meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous
or Narcotics Anonymous; and quarterly meetings with the Director.
In addition, ArLAP provides intervention
counseling for family, friends and colleagues in cases where a structured,
formal intervention is conducted. Volunteer attorney mentors will assist
in interventions, serve as liaisons between ArLAP and courts and bar
associations, and provide compliance monitoring. Harber trained the
first group of mentors in March. If you are interested in volunteering,
contact her.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality is essential to the success
of ArLAP. It is particularly important in a small state with a small
bench and bar. Harber plans to follow the strictest confidentiality,
not even revealing the names of ArLAP participants to the Committee,
but identifying each with a number. The Model Rules of Professional
Conduct and the Canons of Judicial Conduct have been amended to keep
information received by ArLAP and its volunteers completely confidential,
except for cases where the attorney receiving treatment is continuing
to break the law or is breaching the terms of the treatment contract.
EDUCATION
What do you know about alcoholism, substance abuse and depression?
Some common fictions are:
He's not an alcoholic‹he doesn't drink every day.
She's got such a wonderful career and family‹alcoholics are
homeless and unemployed.
He can't be addicted because he only takes prescription drugs.
She can get over her depression if she just exerts a little will
power.
Usually, alcoholics and addicts can quit by themselves, without
treatment.7
"[A]ddiction treatment specialists
typically use the words "addict" and "alcoholic"
interchangeably because a person who is addicted to one substance is
susceptible to addiction to all other psychoactive drugs."8 Thus,
a common pattern for a person who is not in treatment is to quit one
drug but take up another.
It is possible for addicts and alcoholics
to abstain, but "they cannot sustain their abstinence without others'
help."9 Therein lies the importance of the community and contact
of a detoxification facility, or twelve-step groups, or a mentor. Twelve-step
groups date back to the 1930s, when a small group of people experimented
with a variety of techniques and formulated the "Twelve Steps,"
a series of beliefs and actions forming the foundation of Alcoholics
Anonymous, Alanon, and similar organizations.10
Alcoholics and addicts like to believe
that they are social drinkers and users, but this is not true. Without
treatment, their prognosis is bleak. The good news is that help is available
through ArLAP.
Contact Information
Arkansas Lawyer Assistance Program (ArLAP)
Ms. Gail Harber, Director
2 Van Circle, Suite 7
Little Rock, AR 72207
501-907-2529 • http://www.arlap.org
ArLAP Committee Members
Janet James Robb, Little Rock, Chair
Dr. Phil Barling, Fort Smith
Judge Kathleen Bell, West Helena
Gary R. Burbank, El Dorado
Gail Harber, Little Rock
Judge David Laser, Jonesboro
Dr. Joseph Martindale, Benton
James E. Smith, Jr., Little Rock
Christopher Thomas, Little Rock
1. George Edward Bailly, Impairment, the Profession, and Your Law Partner,
Me. B.J., Apr. 2000, at 96.
2. CoLAP has an excellent home page on the Internet, at: www.abanet.org/legalservices/
colap/home.
3. In Re: Establishment of the Arkansas Lawyer Assistance Program; Adoption
of Rule 8.3(d) and (e) of the Model Rules of
Professional Conduct and Canon 3d(4) and (5) of the Arkansas Code of
Judicial Conduct, 343 Ark. 780 (2000).
4. In Re: Arkansas Lawyers Assistance Program, 344 Ark. 759 (2001).
5. In Re: Establishment of the Arkansas Lawyer Assistance Program, 346
Ark. ___ (Sept. 20, 2001) (hereinafter Procedures).
6. Id. 7. Id.
8. Facts & Fictions, Tex. B.J., Feb. 2001, at 157.
9. Robert Coombs, Addiction's Defining Nature, Tex. B.J., Feb. 2001,
at 166, 166.
10. Id at 168.
11. Information about Alcoholics Anonymous is available on their website
at www.alcoholics- anonymous.org.
There are more than 97,000 A.A. groups worldwide. Al-anon's website
is at www.al-anon-alateen.org.
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