Alcohol & Drug Treatment for Lawyers Part IV: California’s Lawyer Assistance Program
In November 2000, California voters approved Proposition 36, which allowed probation and treatment for many drug addicted criminal offenders who would normally face jail time. At the same time, California state Senator John Burton proposed Senate Bill 479, which established a diversion and treatment program for lawyers who suffer from drug addiction, alcohol abuse, or mental illness. The bill was sponsored by the California State Bar, signed into law in July 2001 and became effective on January 1, 2002. The bill created the Attorney Diversion and Assistance Act which is codified in California Business and Professions Code, Section 6230 through Section 6238. The purpose of the bill was two-fold: to protect the general public from malpractice while preserving the bar cards of addicted or mentally ill attorneys by encouraging attorneys to enter addiction treatment centers or programs for rehabilitation. The result: the California Lawyers Assistance Program.
The California Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) is a comprehensive program of professional support and structure including expert assessment, arrangements for enrollment at addiction treatment centers, monitored continuing outpatient treatment, random drug and alcohol testing, and professionally facilitated or peer support groups. The program also offers limited, free short-term counseling to all attorneys for stress, burnout, or career challenges.
A twelve-member committee oversees the program and can adopt the rules and regulations needed to run it, including guidelines for acceptance or denial into the program, criteria for identifying successful completion or termination for failure, and recommendations for rehabilitation criteria. The State Bar is tasked with outreach to make attorneys, the legal community, judges, and the general public aware of the program. Outreach programs include continuing legal education (CLE) courses related to prevention, detection, and treatment of substance abuse, as well as speaking engagements at law firms, bar associations, and other law-related venues.
In order to enter the program, an attorney can either self-refer, be referred by a concerned family, friend or colleague, or be referred via a disciplinary body such as the Office of Chief Trial Counsel or State Bar Court. A main qualification of participation is that the issues must not involve actual harm to the public or clients and stem from self-administration of drugs, nonviolent procurement of drugs for self-administration, or mental illness only.
California’s Lawyer Assistance Program cooperates with the attorney discipline and Bar admissions programs and reports participation treatment status and treatment violations. The State Bar Court Alternative Discipline Program refers attorneys with pending disciplinary proceedings and investigations related to the consequences of substance abuse or mental health issues. The State Bar Committee of Bar Examiners uses the LAP where substance abuse or other mental health issues exist in State Bar applicants whom examiners feel could become contributing members of the Bar after treatment.
Participation in the California LAP does not absolve an attorney of the requirements of the disciplinary system. Upon entering the program the attorney may be required to change his or her bar status to “inactive” and refrain from practicing law for a period of time, or submit to practice restrictions or limitations. However, if an attorney is not already under the jurisdiction of the disciplinary system, self-referred and colleague-referred participation is strictly confidential and should not trigger any sort of investigation.
Each attorney participant is assigned a local case manager who is a licensed clinician experienced in substance abuse and mental health. Initially, the case manager’s role is to immediately address life threatening issues, handle medical needs, and provide emotional support. A new participant attends closed professionally facilitated support groups and local self-help programs. Within a week, the participant undergoes comprehensive assessment by the case manager. The assessment can lead to a referral to medical professionals, psychiatric professionals, or addiction treatment center for further evaluation.
Each attorney meets with an evaluation committee composed of health professionals and a local attorney who has experience in recovering from drug or alcohol abuse. After the committee reviews reports generated by initial evaluations, individualized components of the long-term recovery program are finalized. Progress in the program is monitored by the case manager, group facilitator, and the evaluation committee.
For those suffering from more mild mental health issues, such as stress, burnout, relationship struggles, or career concerns, California lawyers can receive two free counseling sessions with a local therapist who specializes in working with legal professionals in order to prevent manageable problems from escalating into full blown meltdown.
A team of professionals facilitate support groups around the state, with locations in Santa Rosa, Agoura, Los Angels, Chico, Fresno, Torrance, Oakland, San Francisco, Tustin, Laguna Niguel, San Jose, Palo Alto, Fresno, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, North Hollywood, Pasadena, Tarzana, Claremont, Riverside, Woodland Hills, Seal Beach, San Diego, Santa Monica, Sacramento, and Davis. The program also employs peer counselors, who have intimate knowledge of substance abuse in the legal profession.
Successful completion for some participants will result in eligibility for full reinstatement, elimination of restrictions, and either dismissal of the discipline case or a recommendation for a reduction in proposed discipline. The entire foundation of the program rests on the fact that information obtained during the course of participation is strictly confidential and not discoverable or admissible in a civil or disciplinary proceeding for those who successfully complete the program.
The incidence of mental illness in California’s legal community, either on its own or in combination with substance abuse, has stunned program administrators. Depression is, by far, the most common mental health issue facing attorneys today in a profession whose depression rate exceeds that of any other career. Administrators of the LAP have found that almost three quarters of new participants have a mental health diagnosis; this required the LAP to increase the number of qualified clinical staff and intensify delivery of treatment services in recent years. Only 30% of new participants suffer from substance abuse without an underlying mental illness.
Millie Anne Cavanaugh, Esq. is a Los Angeles immigration lawyer and former insurance defense attorney. She is licensed to practice law in California and Massachusetts. The information contained herein is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as a solicitation for your business or as legal advice on any subject matter. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of this information without seeking independent legal advice.
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