Chemical and mental health disorders are not moral issues. They are treatable illnesses. There is no stigma in being ill; the stigma comes from the denial of the problem, for refusal to seek treatment with ensuing behavior in active addiction causing embarrassment and problems, personally and professionally. It is completely acceptable behavior to seek treatment, but it is a detriment to the legal profession to remain in denial and refuse treatment after the problem is pointed out.

Chemical dependency is a progressive, chronic, and fatal disease - it never gets better if left untreated. Depression disorders and other mental health issues may be chronic or situational, but in either case usually require professional intervention to effect improvement. Both illnesses know no social or economic boundaries. They affect the young and the old, the affluent and the poor. Members of the legal profession are by no means immune and may, in fact, be more likely than the general population to develop these illnesses.

Characteristically, the lawyer who suffers from chemical dependency or mental health disorders denies that he or she has a problem. Denial is a classic symptom in these of illnesses, therefore seeking help is less likely to occur. More often, it's family members, partners, and other lawyers who become aware of the problem, and it's their involvement, and support which enable lawyers to get help. It has been clearly demonstrated that the earlier the intervention, the better the chance is for rehabilitation.

» Click here for a Substance Abuse in the Law Firm Checklist.

» It is the responsibility of all members of the profession to help others that may not recognize the need for assistance, and we must take every step necessary to provide for that help. Only by recognizing this responsibility can we prevent the lawyer impaired from causing further harm to himself and others.