The American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation are collaborating on a groundbreaking joint research project to survey the current rates of substance use, depression and anxiety among licensed attorneys in the United States. Please participate to enhance the survey’s results.
Benefits of the Project
- Establish a new baseline understanding of where the legal profession currently stands in relation to the historically substantial challenges presented by substance abuse and other mental health problems.
- Increase the spotlight on these issues, presenting both the impetus and opportunity to revisit, update, and innovate in terms of profession-wide practices and cultural norms related to drinking, drug use, and psychological wellbeing. This research will provide a sturdy springboard toward proactive improvement on all of these fronts.
- Create a persuasive fund of knowledge to initiate, inform, and guide decision making and policy development in the following key areas: funding of Lawyer Assistance Programs, continuing legal education requirements, bar examination and admission requirements, discipline guidelines and procedures, malpractice, prevention, diversion, monitoring, early intervention, referral to treatment, strategies to reduce stigma, and increased career satisfaction and longevity among members of the bar.
Oct. 15, 2014 – A groundbreaking national joint research project is underway, and Wisconsin lawyers will be asked for their input. The American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs in collaboration with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation will assess the current rates of substance use, depression and anxiety among licensed attorneys in the United States. Linda Albert, program manager of the Wisconsin Lawyers Assistance Program (WisLAP), is co-facilitator of this national research project.
The survey will capture current, reliable, and credible data, which will impart numerous benefits to virtually all sectors of the legal profession.
“This is the first time a project of this magnitude will be undertaken in more than 20 years,” said State Bar WisLAP Manager Linda Albert. “The findings will help us understand the scope of the problem, identify and eliminate roadblocks to legal professionals getting help, and assist in developing programs focusing on the health and wellness of our members.”
How to Participate
The survey will be sent the week of Oct. 20, 2014 to all State Bar members who are residents of Wisconsin. While the survey will arrive as an email from the State Bar of Wisconsin, it will be confidential and anonymous. No identifying information will be requested. All survey data will go directly to the Butler Center for Research for analysis, not to the State Bar.
For more information or to inquire as to how to participate, contact Albert at (608) 250-6172, or Patrick Krill, director of the Legal Professionals Program at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation at (651) 213-4851.
