Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program Director Bree Buchanan was appointed chair of the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs.
2016-2017 American Bar Association President-elect Hilarie Bass appointed Buchanan to a one-year term beginning after the association’s Annual Meeting in August.
The Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs aims to educate the legal profession about alcoholism, chemical dependencies, stress, depression, and other mental health issues, and support bar associations and lawyer assistance programs in developing ways to provide effective solutions for recovery.
Buchanan in November was named co-chair of the commission’s Task Force on Lawyer Wellness, a joint effort between the commission, the National Organization of Bar Counsel, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and others, to address the findings of the ABA and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation study, which showed attorneys experience substance abuse and mental health issues more than any other profession and the general population.
Learn more about the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program at tlaphelps.org and the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs at americanbar.org/colap.