The Bench & Bar magazine is published to provide members of the KBA with information that will increase their knowledge of the law, improve the practice of law, and assist in improving the quality of legal services for the citizenry.
Issue link: https://kentuckybenchandbar.epubxp.com/i/450788
34 B&B; • 1.15 K Y L A P KYLAP HOSTS LAWYERS IN RECOVERY MEETINGS IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND LEXINGTON The Kentucky Lawyers Assistance Program offers weekly open recovery meetings for lawyers, law students and judges in Northern Kentucky and Lexington. The Northern Kentucky Lawyers in Recovery meeting is held 7:30 a.m., on Tuesdays at Lakeside Christian Church, 195 Buttermilk Pike, Lakeside Park, (Erlanger). The church is located off I-75 exit 186 for Kentucky 371/ Buttermilk Pike. The facility will open at 7:15 a.m. Please bring your own coffee. The Lexington Kentucky Lawyers in Recovery meeting is held at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesdays at the Alano Club downtown, 370 East Second Street, Lexington, KY 40508. All meetings are open to law students, lawyers and judges who are already involved or who are interested in a 12-step program of recovery, including but not limited to Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous and Al-Anon. Come meet other attorneys and network. All meetings and contacts are c onfidential. SCR 3.990. For additional information, please visit www.kylap.org, call (502) 564-3795, ext. 266, or email a beitz@kylap.org. CRITICAL NEW CONFIDENTIAL RESEARCH STUDY COMING TO YOU BY EMAIL SOON – KYLAP AND HAZELDEN BETTY FORD TEAM UP FOR PROJECT —WE NEED YOUR HELP The American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation are pleased to announce their collaboration with Kentucky and other state lawyer assistance programs on a groundbreaking new research project to survey the current rates of substance use, depression and anxiety among licensed attorneys nationwide. The survey is designed to capture current data on these issues, with results that will impact all sectors of the legal community. "Available estimates peg the addiction rate of attorneys to be roughly twice that of the general population," said Patrick R. Krill, J.D., director of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation's Legal Professionals Program. Those statistics, though, are more than 30 years old, he noted. "It's time to update the research and in doing so highlight the apparent need to devote more attention and allocate greater resources to this important issue," Krill said. E xpected benefits of this research include: Establishing a new baseline • understanding of where the legal profession now stands in relation to the challenges presented by substance use and other mental health problems. Spotlighting these issues so as to • inspire new and innovative proactive improvement on all of these fronts. Creating a persuasive fund of • knowledge to initiate, inform, and g uide decision making and policy development in the following key areas: funding for 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. Identifying solutions to reduce the • barriers that legal professionals experience in gaining access to assistance, treatment, and ongoing rehabilitation in order to increase attorney wellness, competence, and ethical behavior. Having credible current research these issues impacts how Kentucky can better target our resources and provide the best assistance we can to our profession, according to Yvette Hourigan, director of KYLAP, adding that the research will also help inform the work of lawyer discipline, judicial discipline, lawyer admissions, and treatment professionals. Kentucky attorneys will soon receive a confidential email regarding the survey. All responses are confidential and will be submitted blindly directly to the research institute gathering data from all states.