The VBA Journal is the official publication of The Virginia Bar Association.
Issue link: http://vba.epubxp.com/i/99281
Barbara Williams, president of the program's board of directors, saw ½rsthand that disciplining lawyers did not address underlying health issues. David Mercer, a board member of Lawyers Helping Lawyers, said it is hard for lawyers to admit they have a problem and seek help. Barbara Williams of McGuireWoods in Richmond serves as president of the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Board of Directors. Her involvement with the organization began when she headed the Virginia State Bar's attorney discipline process. "Te most startling realization to me as bar counsel was that most of the lawyers who had the most serious disciplinary problems also had substance abuse or mental health issues," she said. "I realized you can discipline a lawyer, but you're not really addressing the underlying issue. Tey need support, help and monitoring. By helping lawyers who have substance abuse or mental health issues, we can help them stay out of the disciplinary system, which helps the bar and helps the public as well." Referrals for help often come from co-workers, judges, the Board of Bar Examiners and the Virginia State Bar. Occasionally, lawyers in need of assistance seek help themselves. Lefer cautioned, however, that by the time a lawyer displays signs of impairment in the workplace, the disease is usually far progressed. Many lawyers seek help only when they experience legal problems or face the loss of their license to practice. Lawyers Helping Lawyers opens about 150 new cases a year and works with about 225 lawyers a year, Lefer said. Utilization of services increases every year, "but we are just touching the tip of the iceberg" of need, he added, noting that funding is a continuing struggle for the organization. Te program employs one licensed clinician and one administrative staf person – not George Hettrick, a volunteer since 1989, said the empathy of someone in recovery can be persuasive to people in need. enough to meet the need for help and education throughout Virginia. Because of the confdences the organization protects, it cannot publicize many of its successes in restoring lawyers to productive careers and lives. Virginia attorneys interested in helping can volunteer to support and monitor lawyers in recovery, to provide sites for continuing legal education, to serve as board members and to help with administrative functions. Mercer, whose work with the assistance program recently was recognized with the Caron Treatment Center's Legal Professional Award for the Greater Washington, D.C., area, said that despite the overwhelming need and limited resources, the importance of the organization's work motivates the staf and more than 150 volunteers. Substance abuse is recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association – one that is incurable, progressive and, if left untreated, fatal. "Te consequences of these problems are so severe – death, suicide, automobile accidents. Tere is damage done to clients who are not well served. Tere is the harm done by malpractice," the Alexandria lawyer said. "And each of those things has a broader efect on the families, friends and loved ones of those involved. "Our mission is to restore lawyers back to where they were before the disease. … If all we do is address the problem from a disciplinary standpoint, you don't restore the person to being a fully functioning member of society again. Tat's what Lawyers Helping Lawyers is about." n Contact Lawyers Helping Lawyers for assistance by: Phone - 877-545-4682 (877-LHL-INVA) Email - JLefer@valhl.org Web - www.valhl.org 30 • VBA JOURNAL