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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    April 01, 1999

    Wisconsin Lawyer April 1999: President's Perspective

    President's Perspective


    You Needn't Suffer Alone - Wisconsin Lawyers Assistance Program Is On Call for You

    By Susan R. Steingass

    Steingass

    I don't have to tell you that the practice of law is full of stress, anxiety, and worry. This is true whether you're a transactional lawyer or a litigator, a prosecutor or a probate lawyer, whether you practice alone or in a large firm. Our profession is full of requirements for exact and timely performance. We carry the burden of our clients' problems as well as our own. Many lawyers find satisfaction in the profession, and even grow and thrive, professionally and personally, in the face of these pressures. But many experience mental and physical problems or develop other career-related concerns as a result.

    Studies have found that lawyers fall prey at an alarming rate to burnout, job dissatisfaction, depression, chemical dependency, and a host of psychological, behavioral, and physical symptoms related to stress from the practice of law. This is devastating to the lawyers who suffer these effects and the clients whose matters affected lawyers may fail to attend to. Some affected lawyers may so neglect client matters as to ultimately result in grievances filed against them with the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility (BAPR).

    The State Bar's Lawyers Assistance Program (WisLAP) was formed as a member service and a public service. It offers confidential assistance to lawyers experiencing these problems, and provides public information through educational programs.

    WisLAP is staffed by State Bar employees Shell Goar, the overall program coordinator and the on call stress helpline and career-change contact, and Lea Landmann, administrator of the program's chemical dependency component and the on call chemical dependency helpline contact. Attorney Gregory Van Rybroeck, a licensed psychologist and clinical director at the Mendota Mental Health Institute, trains WisLAP volunteers and is the program consultant. The program operates under the aegis of the WisLAP Committee, which is jointly chaired by attorneys Thomas R. Casper, C. Michael Hausman, and Winifred A. Nathan.

    WisLAP maintains a 24-hour helpline to deal with requests for help by and on behalf of attorneys. The helpline, indeed any communication, is absolutely confidential, and the helpline does not even use caller ID devices.

    WisLAP also welcomes attorney volunteers and provides training for them. The list of attorneys willing to help is growing, but we need more.

    The role of trained volunteers is carefully delineated as a listening and helping role as opposed to the treatment role that is performed by trained mental health professionals. Through the WisLAP stress and mental health and the chemical dependency program administrators, referrals also are made to appropriate medical and community resources, and sometimes to self-help groups.

    Potential trained volunteers who fear they will become privy to information that triggers the mandatory reporting requirement for BAPR, remember that Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule 20:8.3(c) expressly exempts WisLAP volunteers from reporting any professional misconduct learned about in the course of confidential counseling.

    WisLAP also provides educational programs on a variety of topics ranging from burnout, anxiety, coping with the demands of practice, job dissatisfaction, job changes, and more. Staff and volunteers also offer a three-hour CLE Ethics program on avoiding grievances and malpractice dealing with stress, burnout, depression, and chemical dependency. This program has already been presented to 12 local bar associations, including a session I attended in Sturgeon Bay for the Door, Kewaunee, and Brown county bars. Consider asking your local bar to sponsor such a worthwhile program which, incidentally, satisifies the entire ethics requirement for reporting members.

    Recently, the Young Lawyers Division joined with WisLAP to offer "Been There, Done That," a program that pairs attorneys who call about concerns with career-related issues with volunteers who have faced similar issues themselves.

    This is very important work so, be you a potential trained volunteer or a lawyer who could use some help, please call WisLAP. The helpline is always open, 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, and is absolutely confidential. The helpline numbers are listed below and are on your State Bar member card!

    We all have busy and sometimes stressful lives in a stressful profession. So please call, whether you want help or to help.

    Help is a confidential phone call away ... 24-hours every day

    • Stress Helpline, (800) 543-2625 - stress, depression, or professional crisis
    • Chemical Dependency Helpline, (800) 254-9154 - alcohol or drug-related concerns
    • For career-related concerns, (800) 444-9404, ext. 6172

    For more information, or to become a trained volunteer, please call Shell Goar at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6172.


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