Description
The legal profession is facing an escalating crisis of alcoholism, substance use and mental health disorders. If you know a colleague who is struggling, staying silent can enable these issues, as well as expose your firm to liability. However, approaching a fellow lawyer in distress requires careful consideration and tact, as defensiveness and denial are common responses. Certain approaches yield greater results than others. You need to be equipped with actionable steps to provide the necessary support needed before the situation worsens.
The window of opportunity to help a troubled fellow legal professional can close quickly. The goal is to help motivate the impaired lawyer to seek the professional help so desperately needed. This important program, led by Brian S. Quinn, Esq., Education and Outreach Coordinator of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Pennsylvania, will look at the high incidence of alcohol and substance use and mental health disorders within the legal profession, strategies for recognizing impairment, effective intervention methods, and available resources.
This program will cover:
- Key questions to ask and answer when addressing a colleague's potential struggles
- How to identify both noticeable and subtle red flags of substance use or mental health issues
- Best practices for reaching out to a colleague in need
- Overcoming barriers that exist that prevent legal professionals from asking for help
- Dos and don’ts of effective intervention strategies
- How to create an actionable plan to achieve the desired change
- Ethical and disciplinary challenges that may result from distress and impairment due to alcohol, substance, and mental health disorders.
This program is for attorneys who want effective strategies on approaching a colleague you feel may be in distress or impaired.