Support and Counseling: Chemical Health Issues / Mental Health Issues / Life-Stress Issues / Concerned People

LCL Can Help

Among the services the Lawyers Assistance Program of LCL now provides to impaired lawyers, judges or law students are:

Mentoring: One-on-one support often supplements on-going treatment or therapy. LCL makes every effort to connect a client with a volunteer lawyer, judge or law student- mentor from our database, to provide individual support and guidance for professional and personal issues.

Assessment and Referral: Licensed professional counselors perform in-office assessments and make treatment referrals as appropriate.

Interventions: If the situation presents itself, trained LCL volunteers and/or licensed professionals, in addition to others who are concerned, will plan, rehearse and facilitate an intervention to educate the affected person about his/her issues.

Support Groups: From time to time LCL operates lawyer-facilitated support groups that meet to focus on both mental and chemical health related problems.

Therapy Groups: LCL operates therapy groups, which meet regularly to focus on mental health and/or addiction recovery issues. A licensed therapist leads a women’s group and a men's therapy group.

Education and Prevention: LCL offers CLEs and other educational programs to members of the legal profession.

There is Help and There is Hope

Chemical dependency, mental illness (such as depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress), and behavioral addictions (such as gambling or sex) are not evidence of moral “weakness”. They are, instead, treatable illnesses that, untreated, may cause a deterioration of ethical values, personal relationships, professional competencies, and physical health. Untreated, such illnesses continue to worsen, even with temporary remissions.

Marital and family problems, financial difficulties, chronic stress, and work-related issues are facts of contemporary life. They can and do become overwhelming. When this happens lawyers, like others, can choose to sink alone or swim with professionals and peer assistance.

Download the PDF of our brochure:

LCL-LAP Self Assessment [160KB]