The TLAP website offers a host of resources related to addictions and mental health, including: online self-assessments for issues such as depression, substance abuse, stress, and suicide; details on practice support and financial assistance; and a lengthy list of first person stories.

Information specifically for students, law firms, and judges is also available.

TLAP’s Director is Ann D. Foster. Contact details are available at the TLAP website. TLAP’s toll free number is 1-800-343-8527.

TLAP provides assistance through many channels, including a toll-free help line (1-877-424-8527), support groups, referrals, interventions, and education. All calls to TLAP are confidential and free.

The organization’s website includes an overview of TLAP’s history, resources including a twice-yearly newsletter, and links to other helpful organizations.

TLAP’s Executive Director is Laura Gatrell; its Commission Chairperson is Teresa Jones. Contact information for executive and commission members is available at the www.tlap.org.

The Lawyers Helping Lawyers Committee offers peer assistance. According to the website, “Peer attorneys will lend an ear, share their experiences, and, if necessary, advise you on re-entering legal practice or accompany you to self-help meetings. Committee member attorneys have chosen this volunteer assignment because each has an understanding of impairments and a desire to help.”

RIEAS, in turn, offers consultations with professional mental heath counsellors who work with the attorney seeking assistance to develop a plan to resolve issues related to “balancing work and family, depression, anxiety, domestic violence, aging, grief, career satisfaction, alcohol and substance abuse, and problem gambling.” This can include referrals to skilled professionals and programs throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Assistance given through Lawyers Helping Lawyers and RIEAS is free and confidential. Contact information for both programs is available at the Rhode Island Bar Association website.

LHL has a confidential helpline and partners with LifeFocus Counseling Service to offer five hours of free intervention counseling. The LHL website includes information on addiction, depression, upcoming events and local treatment facilities.

LHL’s Director is J. Robert  Turnbull Jr. His contact details, along with those for other LHL members and LifeFocus Counseling, are available at the Lawyers Helping Lawyers website.

LCL operates through a network of 200 volunteeers, who are “lawyers, judges and law students in recovery from addiction and mental health or emotional problems”. They provide discreet assistance in person or over the phone to lawyers or those trying to help a lawyer in need.

Some services LCL provides include:

• Lawyer recovery meetings (based on the 12-step model)
• Case management services
• Free books & pamphlets on addiction, emotional issues, overeating, parenting, relationships, and more.

On LCL’s website, visitors will find self-tests for alcohol & drugs,  problem gambling, stress & anxiety, and depression.

LCL’s confidential helpline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including holidays at 1-888-999-1941. LCL’s general administration line is 1-800-335-2572.

OAAP assists attorneys facing issues such as:

• alcoholism, drug addiciton, and compulsive disorders (including gambling addiction)
• depression and anxiety
• stress management

The program also offers help with time management and career transitions. All of OAAP’s programs are free or at a nominal cost.

A wide variety of resources are available on the OAAP website. In Sight, the program’s newsletter, includes articles, first-person stories, OAAP news, and other relavant content. The website’s Resources page offers links to support group websites and related information.  A list of OAAP’s upcoming workshops and seminars is also available.

OAAP’s Executive Director is Barbara S. Fishleder. Her contact details as well as those for OAAP’s attorney counselors are available at the OAAP website. The program’s general help lines are (503) 226-1057 or (800) 321-OAAP.

LHLAP provides strictly confidential help to attorneys seeking assistance, or those seeking assistance on the attorney’s behalf, such as family members, friends, partners, or clients.  This is achieved through referrals and ongoing assistance and support. LHLAP’s toll-free assistance line is 1-800-364-7886.

The Oklahoma Bar Association also offers a Judges Helping Judges program.

“[N]ot all lawyers can cope after being suspended or disbarred from practice.

“A lot of them get very angry and upset, and some of them descend into addiction — and sometimes never get out of it,” explained John Starzynski, who serves as the volunteer executive director of the Ontario Lawyers’ Assistance Program (OLAP).

Starzynski said the addictions cover the gamut, from alcohol and drugs (particularly cocaine) to occasionally sex and often gambling. The latest — and fastest growing addiction that Starzynski sees through OLAP — is to the Internet.”

The article also tells the personal stories of Starzynski (Ontario Lawyers’ Assistance Program), and Keith Anderson, a Nova Scotia lawyer who at one time faced debilitating depression.

An informative article – well worth the read.

Gwilliam was a successful trial lawyer in 1977, when he experienced a particularly devastating loss in court and turned to alcohol. The book, which was a USA Book News Best Book finalist, chronicles his recovery from alcoholism and his transformation into mentor, a leader, well-respected attorney and motivational speaker. Gwilliam credits lessons he learned from losing for his ultimate success in work and life. Among other honours, the Public Justice Foundation presented Gwilliam its Champion of Justice Award for 2009.

To learn more  about Gary Gwilliam, visit his firm bio or personal website and blog, and for more on Gary’s struggle with alcohol abuse, see this article from Plaintiff Magazine, Trials and Tribulations: A Profile of Oakland Trial Lawyer J. Gary Gwilliam.

The OLAP website includes lots of useful resources, including:

• Self-tests for drug & alcohol abuse and depression
• Extensive informati0n on signs and symptoms of chemical dependency
• Links to local treatment centers, as well as drug & alcohol addiction and mental health associations
• 20 Golden Rules for Lawyers

OLAP emphasizes that “alcoholism, substance abuse, addictive behavior, and psychological problems are treatable illnesses rather than moral issues” and that all communication with OLAP is confidential. Lawyers who need help, or who know a colleague who needs help, are encouraged to call OLAP’s 24/7 hotline at 1-800-348-4343.

Scott R. Mote, J.D., is OLAP’s Executive Director. Contact information for OLAP’s staff is available on the OLAP website.