A groundbreaking 2016 study on substance abuse and mental health problems among licensed attorneys is a call to action and a reminder that more must be done to remove the stigma that keeps people from seeking help. That was the message from panelists August 5 at a session during the National Conference of Bar Presidents … Continue Reading
The Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program of the State Bar of Texas received the Texas Suicide Prevention Council’s Leadership Award yesterday at the Texas Suicide Prevention Symposium in San Marcos. The honor was bestowed on TLAP staff attorney Chris Ritter by the TSPC, a coalition of various community-based organizations, state and local agencies, and academic institutions, … Continue Reading
The journey from lawyer to yoga teacher to yoga-teaching lawyer Editor’s note: This story is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s “Stories of Recovery” series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, ‘law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at (800) 343-8527 and find more information at texasbar.com/TLAP. When I … Continue Reading
The Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program was featured in a nonprofit TV channel segment “Mental Health Matters: In the Workplace,” on how states and employers support their workers dealing with mental illness. The segment on Mental Health Channel, an online network of free documentary-style programming about mental health topics, looks at legislative and employer-based policies aimed … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This story is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s “Stories of Recovery” series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at (800) 343-8527 and find more information at texasbar.com/TLAP. If you’d told me I would look better and be happier … Continue Reading
Challenges with cognitive impairment facing aging lawyers take center stage in the May-June issue of the American Bar Association’s Bar Leader magazine. The feature article details efforts lawyer assistance program directors and bar leaders are making to prepare for issues related to the fact that attorneys are retiring later in life. In the piece, Texas … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This story is part of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program’s “Stories of Recovery” series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at (800) 343-8527 and find more information at texasbar.com/TLAP. Over the past 15 years, a toxic combination of the general … Continue Reading
The Washington Post recently published this column by New York writer and lawyer Lisa F. Smith on the stigma of drug addiction in the legal profession and the latest research on just how many attorneys suffer from substance abuse. The whole column is worth reading, but here’s an excerpt: A newly released study conducted by the … Continue Reading
The Patrick D. Sheeran & Michael J. Crowley Memorial Trust launched a website, sheerancrowley.org, in April aimed at making it easier to help Texas lawyers, judges, and law students with substance abuse problems, depression, and other mental health issues. Lawyers who find themselves suffering from depression or drinking too much often feel that they are alone, … Continue Reading
The 27th Annual Texas Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (TLCL) Convention will be held June 3-5 at the Westin Houston Memorial City in Houston. The conference will feature nationally acclaimed speakers on 12-step recovery along with topics pertaining to professional burnout, peer support, cross addiction, spirituality in recovery, and practicing principles of recovery in the practice … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 19th story in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP) “Stories of Recovery” series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at (800) 343-8527 and find more information at texasbar.com/TLAP. I knew for some time that I might have … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 18th story in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP) “Stories of Recovery” series. TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at (800) 343-8527 and find more information at texasbar.com/TLAP. Three decades of practicing law and I was starting … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 17th story in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program “Stories of Recovery” series. The State Bar’s TLAP program offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at (800) 343-8527 and find more information at texasbar.com/TLAP. A few years ago, I started … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 16th story in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program “Stories of Recovery” series. The State Bar’s TLAP program offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at (800) 343-8527 and find more information at texasbar.com/TLAP. All five of us walked into … Continue Reading
Texas attorneys can earn continuing legal education ethics credit by watching the inspirational video Courage, Hope, Help—TLAP Is There through TexasBarCLE starting now through the end of the year. TexasBarCLE is featuring the video as part of its free online CLE offering titled “Not Alone—Help and Hope for the Impaired Lawyer,” which is available at … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 15th story in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program “Stories of Recovery” series, featuring attorneys in their own words on how they overcame mental health or substance abuse problems. The State Bar’s TLAP program offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 14th story in the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program “Stories of Recovery” series, featuring attorneys in their own words on how they overcame mental health or substance abuse problems. The State Bar’s TLAP program offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call … Continue Reading
The Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program, or TLAP, is reminding Texas attorneys struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues that recovery is possible. In a new video, “Courage, Hope, Help—TLAP is There,” Texas attorneys share their personal journeys from despair to productive and fulfilling lives as they sought help for substance abuse. The video is … Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 13th story in our Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program “Stories of Recovery” series, featuring attorneys in their own words on how they overcame mental health or substance abuse problems. The State Bar’s TLAP program offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call … Continue Reading
The Texas Center for Legal Ethics has contributed $30,000 to a fund that helps attorneys pay for critical mental health and substance abuse treatment.… Continue Reading
Editor’s note: This is the 12th story in our Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program “Stories of Recovery” series, featuring attorneys in their own words on how they overcame mental health or substance abuse problems. The State Bar’s TLAP program offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call … Continue Reading
I drank my first full beer at age 9. It was decades ago, but I remember it vividly. My parents were having a party and my childhood best friend and I stealthily looted two Coors Lights from the cooler and retreated to a back room.… Continue Reading
Every day, Texas attorneys work to ensure that their clients' voices are heard and justice prevails. The toll of a demanding profession can leave many attorneys feeling exhausted, burnt out, and burdened by stress.… Continue Reading
The 26th Annual Texas Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers Convention will be held June 5-7 at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel at the Campbell Centre in Dallas. Texas Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, a volunteer group for lawyers in recovery, works in partnership with the Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program of the State Bar of Texas.… Continue Reading
