You’re Not Alone

Washington Lawyers Assisting Lawyers provides free, confidential peer support for legal professionals

Illustration © Getty/Dane_mark

BY LESLIE HAGIN

Inspired by successful, voluntary, peer-to-peer programs for lawyers in other states, Washington Lawyers Assisting Lawyers (WALAL)11 https://www.walal.org. WALAL is a 501(c)(3) entity. was created last year as a free and confidential nonprofit assistance program. WALAL’s volunteer board consists entirely of lawyers; the average board member has 25 years of legal experience. WALAL’s dozens of peer counselors are peer-trained lawyers across the state with lived experience or interest in the areas of substance use and mental and physical health challenges faced by those in the legal community at all career stages, from law school to practice to retirement.

That’s the good news. The bad news is how prevalent these challenges are in the legal profession.

I wrote an article in the March 2024 issue of Bar News22 Leslie Hagin, “Substance Use Disorder as an Occupational Hazard for Attorneys,” Washington State Bar News, March 2024, available at https://wabarnews.org/2024/03/07/substance-use-disorder-as-an-occupational-hazard-for-attorneys/. about my own journey with substance abuse and related mental health challenges as a lawyer. I wrote about the evolution of my use of alcohol and other substances from a “normal” legal networking and social lubricant, to a “self-medication tool” for managing my depression and stress, to a daily obsession that nearly destroyed my career, my relationships, and my life. I also wrote about my initial ask for help and what I learned along that safe path of recovery—that I wasn’t alone and that there was hope and a way out of the abyss through peer support.

WALAL was created to be a safe place of support for fellow legal professionals (and law students) who are struggling. WALAL works to end the stigma for lawyers about seeking help and to “foster an environment where peers are safe from loneliness and isolation and can be understood.”33 www.walawyersassistinglawyers.com/what-we-do.

Substance use and mental health problems within the legal profession have been documented for decades and are known to be acute.44 See e.g., Connie Beck, Bruce Sales, and Andrew Benjamin, “Lawyer Distress: Alcohol-Related Problems and Other Psychological Concerns Among a Sample of Practicing Lawyers,” 10 J. Law & Health 1-60, at 45 (1995-1996). See also National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, “The Path to Lawyers Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change,” (2016); Krill et al., “The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys,” 10 J. Addiction Med. 46-52 (2016); Benjamin et. al., “The Prevalence of Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Cocaine Abuse Among U.S. Lawyers,” 13(3) Int’l J. Law & Psychiatry (Feb. 1990). Their prevalence among lawyers far surpasses their prevalence in the general U.S. population as well as in other professions. Unfortunately, the need for peer support, outreach, and destigmatization of these challenges within the legal community continues to remain largely unmet.

There is some evidence to suggest that somewhere between 40 and 70 percent of lawyer disciplinary and malpractice claims involve lawyer alcoholism/substance use disorder, depression, or both.55 “National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being,” Aug. 14, 2017. The task force and subsequent report was initiated by the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP), the National Organization of Bar Counsel, and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. Additionally, there are formidable mental health challenges affecting our profession including anxiety, stress, overcommitment, work-family conflicts, and suicidal ideation.

Lawyers and judges of a certain age will likely remember Andy Benjamin, J.D., Ph.D., ABPP, as the developer and director of the original WSBA Lawyers Assistance Program (LAP) from its inception in the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s. During Dr. Benjamin’s era at LAP, the American Bar Association conferred its Certificate of Merit on LAP for its innovative approaches to lawyer assistance, including deploying a trained corps of volunteer peer counselors.

Today, Dr. Benjamin, a longtime University of Washington clinical professor of psychology and affiliate professor of law, serves on WALAL’s board as director of peer counselor training and consultation and as peer intake coordinator. He has long been nationally recognized for his research in and commitment to lawyer assistance and peer counseling.

The success of independent ‘Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers’ nonprofits in other states inspired volunteers from within Washington’s legal community to form WALAL last year as a confidential and free nonprofit peer-support organization.

You might be wondering, doesn’t the WSBA still have a lawyer assistance program and promote lawyer wellness? The answer is yes, through its Member Wellness Program (MWP). WALAL and MWP share a common mission: to promote and enhance lawyer wellness. However, historically in the U.S., some lawyers with mental health or substance use challenges have not felt comfortable reaching out for or trusting possible help from state bar associations. This perception continues in Washington for some folks even though MWP (and its predecessor, LAP) have continually assured lawyers of their confidentiality and of MWP’s separation from the WSBA’s disciplinary function. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the MWP has some involvement with lawyer fitness monitoring and in assisting third parties who wish to report a lawyer for perceived impaired behavior or to seek guidance in how to manage a similar situation.

It’s not surprising, therefore, that independent nonprofit models of lawyer peer-to-peer support exist in several other states. These independent models are robust and successfully fill a need, and some have existed for several decades. Many have “Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers” in their name and participate in the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (ABA CoLAP), which includes both programs of mandatory state bars (including the MWP) and voluntary organizations (including WALAL).

SIDEBAR

By the Numbers

The following information comes from a national study conducted by the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in 2016, entitled “The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys,” as well as Andrew Benjamin and colleagues’ 1990 investigation, “The Prevalence of Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Cocaine Abuse Among United States Lawyers.”67 Andrew Benjamin, et. al., “The Prevalence of Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Cocaine Abuse Among U.S. Lawyers,” 13(3) Int’l J. Law & Psychiatry (Feb. 1990), available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2228368/; Patrick Krill, et. al., “The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys,” Journal of Addiction Medicine, 10 January/February 2016, 46-52, available at https://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/fulltext/2016/02000/the_prevalence_of_substance_use_and_other_mental.8.aspx.

Substance Use

Of the attorneys surveyed in the 2016 study: 84 percent used alcohol in the past year, 15.7 percent used sedatives, 10.2 percent used marijuana, 5.6 percent used opioids, 4.8 percent used stimulants, and
0.8 percent used cocaine. 20.6 percent of survey participants screened positively for hazardous, harmful, and potentially alcohol-dependent drinking. In comparison, 11.8 percent of the general, highly educated workforce screened for hazardous and potentially alcohol-dependent drinking.

Mental Health

28 percent of lawyers surveyed reported currently experiencing mild or higher levels of depression, 19 percent reported anxiety, and 23 percent reported stress.

At some point in their careers, participants reported experiencing concerns with anxiety (61.1 percent), depression (45.7 percent), social anxiety (16.1 percent), panic disorder (8 percent), suicidal thoughts (11.5 percent), and self-injurious behavior (2.9 percent).

Participants who screened for problematic alcohol use had higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.

The success of these independent “Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers” nonprofits in other states inspired volunteers from within Washington’s legal community to form WALAL last year as a confidential and free nonprofit peer-support organization. Completely independent from the WSBA or any other formal bar association, WALAL focuses solely on the individual lawyer, judge, or law student who voluntarily seeks information or help with their personal challenges.76 Some nonprofit models of lawyer assistance programs that focus on voluntary peer-to-peer support include The Other Bar in California, Connecticut Lawyers Assisting Lawyers, Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Pennsylvania Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, and the Professional Wellness Institute in Texas. Many of these have been effectively serving and supporting their legal communities for decades.

As an independent entity, WALAL is not subject to the budgetary limitations of the MWP. We are funded by tax-deductible donations from members of the legal community. WALAL has minimal overhead and administrative costs, so almost 100 percent of the donations made to support WALAL go directly to help anyone requesting peer-support services.

WALAL normalizes help-seeking and destigmatizes outreach to lawyers, judges, and law students, whether they are members of the WSBA or not. WALAL is also active in the ABA CoLAP, thereby efficiently pooling and leveraging the research and resources about voluntary peer support services from across the country (and the world) for the benefit of our peers and the broader legal community in Washington.

It should be noted that while WALAL is entirely separate from the WSBA, the WSBA is fully supportive of our efforts as a distinct, free, confidential, and voluntary nonprofit lawyer-to-lawyer peer-assistance organization available to Washington lawyers, judges, and law students.

What else does WALAL do?

WALAL is committed to proactive outreach and education to destigmatize the substance use and other mental health challenges that continue to disproportionately threaten many members of the legal community. We offer outreach, CLE-accredited presentations, peer counselor trainings, peer recovery resources, and one-on-one, trained peer support for a wide array of challenges one may face during life in the law (starting in law school and continuing through retirement).

WALAL offers its volunteers ongoing peer counseling training the third Monday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom. The trainings provide and reinforce tools and skills to best serve, on a lawyer-to-lawyer, peer-support basis, members of the legal profession who struggle with substance use and other mental health challenges. (WALAL is in the process of being, and expects to be approved at some point in the future by WSBA MCLE as an approved CLE sponsor, for prior and ongoing trainings.)

WALAL’s Vision, Values, Mission, and Purpose Statements were developed during our board retreat last spring, with organizing support from Jodi Sandfort, dean of the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. She has also volunteered personal time and expertise as a founding advisor to WALAL.

How can I get more information, talk to someone, get involved, or donate?

Contact WALAL at www.walal.org, info@walal.org, or 1-800-812-3812.

WALAL: Who We Are

VALUES

  • We are creating a community of safety among peer supporters, which includes employing strict confidentiality in peer support.
  • We encourage peers to engage in self-reflection and introspection and to conduct a self-inventory.
  • We use a transdisciplinary approach for creating structured improvisational conversations among peers.

VISION

  • We are training and educating peer supporters and developing a statewide network of peer support groups.
  • We envision impacting the whole legal ecosystem.
  • We aim to foster an environment where peers are safe from loneliness and isolation and can be understood.
  • We seek to increase compassion and civility in the legal profession.
  • We seek to reduce the stigma for lawyers struggling with mental health, emotional health, and substance abuse issues and to create a climate of greater social acceptance in having these conversations.
  • We collaboratively partner with allies and peer organizations in conducting our work.

MISSION

  • We are a visible community that supports Washington lawyers in addressing mental health, emotional well-being, and substance use challenges, while promoting overall lawyer wellness. We do this by training lawyer peer supporters and developing a statewide peer support network among individuals.

PURPOSE

  • Our purpose is to foster healthy lawyers, recognizing their unique influence on society through advocacy, dispute resolution, and the creation of public and private policy.

About the author

Leslie Hagin. Besides being a lawyer and WALAL president and board chair, Hagin is a Washington state certified peer counselor. Contact Hagin at:

lhagin@walal.org

NOTES

1. https://www.walal.org. WALAL is a 501(c)(3) entity.

2. Leslie Hagin, “Substance Use Disorder as an Occupational Hazard for Attorneys,” Washington State Bar News, March 2024, available at https://wabarnews.org/2024/03/07/substance-use-disorder-as-an-occupational-hazard-for-attorneys/.

3. www.walawyersassistinglawyers.com/what-we-do.

4. See e.g., Connie Beck, Bruce Sales, and Andrew Benjamin, “Lawyer Distress: Alcohol-Related Problems and Other Psychological Concerns Among a Sample of Practicing Lawyers,” 10 J. Law & Health 1-60, at 45 (1995-1996). See also National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, “The Path to Lawyers Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change,” (2016); Krill et al., “The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys,” 10 J. Addiction Med. 46-52 (2016); Benjamin et. al., “The Prevalence of Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Cocaine Abuse Among U.S. Lawyers,” 13(3) Int’l J. Law & Psychiatry (Feb. 1990).

5. “National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being,” Aug. 14, 2017. The task force and subsequent report was initiated by the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP), the National Organization of Bar Counsel, and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers.

6. Some nonprofit models of lawyer assistance programs that focus on voluntary peer-to-peer support include The Other Bar in California, Connecticut Lawyers Assisting Lawyers, Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Pennsylvania Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, and the Professional Wellness Institute in Texas. Many of these have been effectively serving and supporting their legal communities for decades.

7. Andrew Benjamin, et. al., “The Prevalence of Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Cocaine Abuse Among U.S. Lawyers,” 13(3) Int’l J. Law & Psychiatry (Feb. 1990), available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2228368/; Patrick Krill, et. al., “The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns Among American Attorneys,” Journal of Addiction Medicine, 10 January/February 2016, 46-52, available at https://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/fulltext/2016/02000/the_prevalence_of_substance_use_and_other_mental.8.aspx.