Attention:
Card image cap

Help is Not a 4 Letter Word: Combatting Stigma around Well-Being Issues 2020


Level: Intermediate
Runtime: 64 minutes
Recorded Date: September 16, 2020
Click here to share this program
Printer-Friendly Version
Closed Caption

$75

Add to Cart

Agenda

        • Stigma Overview
                - Definitions
                - Why is stigma so pervasive?
                - Why is overcoming stigma critical?
        • Stigma & Life Stages of an Attorney
                - Law Student
                - Legal Career
                - Retirement and Encore Career
                - Unique Position of Judiciary
                - Variations Depending on Illness & Context
        • Conquering Stigma

Runtime: 1 hour, 4 minutes
Recorded: September 16, 2020
For NY - Difficulty Level: Both newly admitted and experienced attorneys

Description

Substance use disorders and mental illness can affect any practitioner regardless of gender, culture, ethnicity, age or socioeconomic status. But no matter what their background, practitioners dealing with these issues seem to suffer in silence. Why? Stigma--cultural prejudice and discrimination that labels an individual suffering from such illnesses as defective, or weak, oft-times have more damaging consequences than the illness itself and create a barrier to treatment. This program will define the stigma, explain the reasons why stigma is so pervasive in the legal profession, and why it is critical to overcome these beliefs and identify effective means to ameliorate stigma and replace its effects with affirming attitudes for recovery. It will focus on several different "life stages" of an attorney (law students, career practitioners, and judges), and how stigma affects each group and identify practical and applicable ways to conquer stigma in the legal community.

This program was recorded on September 16th, 2020.

Provided By

American Bar Association
Card image cap

Panelists

Card image cap

David Jaffe

Assoc. Dean, Student Affairs
American University-Washington College of Law

Dean David B. Jaffe is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. He oversees all aspects of the Office of Student Affairs, which includes support for JD students from Orientation, through academic and personal counseling, organization development, to Commencement. A committed steward of law student wellness, Jaffe serves on the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) as co-chair of the Law School Assistance Committee, and in 2015, he received the CoLAP Meritorious Service Award in recognition of his commitment to improving the lives of law students. He received a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.

Card image cap

Raul Ayala

Attorney
Office of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles, CA.

Raul Ayala is an attorney at Office of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles, California. Raul Ayala has 35 years of experience as a lawyer since graduating from Pomona College with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1998. This attorney also has a Doctor of Law (J.D.) from UC Hastings College of The Law.

Card image cap

Terry Harrell

Executive Director - Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program
American Bar Association

Terry Harrell completed her law degree at Maurer School of Law and her Master of Social Work Degree (MSW) at Indiana University. Terry is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), a Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor (LCAC) in Indiana, and has a nationally recognized Master Addictions Counselor certification from NAADAC. She has worked in a variety of areas including inpatient treatment, crisis services, adult outpatient treatment, wrap around services for severely emotionally disturbed adolescents, and management.

Terry has been with the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP) since 2000 and became the Executive Director in 2002. Locally, Terry is active with the Indiana State Bar Association and in August 2014 she became the first LAP Director to be appointed Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs.

Card image cap

Tracy L. Kepler

Risk Control Consulting Director
CNA

Tracy L. Kepler is a Risk Control Director for CNA’s Lawyers Insurance Program. In this role, she designs and develops content and distribution of risk control initiatives relevant to the practice of law. Professor Kepler lectures frequently at CNA-sponsored events and at state and local bar associations and national seminars hosted by industry-leading organizations. She also writes articles focusing on law firm risk control and professional responsibility issues.

Prior to joining CNA, Professor Kepler served as the Director of the American Bar Association’s Center for Professional Responsibility (CPR), providing national leadership in developing and interpreting standards and scholarly resources in legal and judicial ethics, professional regulation, professionalism, client protection, professional liability and attorney well-being. From 2014-2016, Professor Kepler served as an Associate Solicitor in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), where she concentrated her practice in the investigation, prosecution and appeal of patent/trademark practitioner disciplinary matters before the Agency, U.S. District Courts and Federal Circuit, provided policy advice on ethics and discipline related matters to senior management, and drafted and revised Agency regulations. From 2000-2014, she served as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), where she investigated and prosecuted cases of attorney misconduct.

Professor Kepler has served in various capacities, including as President, on the Board of the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), a non-profit organization of legal professionals whose members enforce ethics rules that regulate the professional conduct of lawyers who practice law in the United States and abroad. Professor Kepler is an Adjunct Professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, Georgetown University Law Center and Loyola School of Law (Chicago) teaching Legal Ethics. Committed to the promotion and encouragement of professional responsibility and attorney well-being throughout her career, Professor Kepler has served on the ABA’s Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs, where she was a Commission member, a member of its Advisory Committee, the Chair of its Education and Senior Lawyer Committees, and also a member of its National Conference Planning Committee. She is a member of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and an author of its Well-Being Report. She is also an Advisory Board Member of the Mindfulness in Law Society. She is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and received her law degree from New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.

CLE CREDITS

Card image cap

Similar Courses

Card image cap
60 minutes
Cat Proverbs and Attorney Ethics
Why do we have so many cat sayings? What do they mean? And do they really teach anything about attorney ethics? In this program, Stuart will explain it all. We’ll talk about the origins of these cat sayings and the ethics lessons beneath each.

Stuart Teicher

$75

Add to Cart

15 Credit States

More Details
Card image cap
61 minutes
Competency Double Play: Depression and Substance Abuse
Experts differ on whether lawyers are more prone to depression than others who work in equally high-stress occupations such as doctors. But one thing is clear: the stigma associated with depression is one of the reasons lawyers may not get help when they need it. Is an ancient virus the reason humans are susceptible to substance use disorders? How has modern medicine changed the way we treat substance use disorders? This program answers these important questions so that today's lawyers have the tools they need to help themselves or a colleague.

New Media Legal

$75

Add to Cart

15 Credit States

More Details
Card image cap
63 minutes
Dealing with Debtors and Creditors with Mental Health Issues
A number of Important dialogues in recent years have addressed lawyers struggling with mental health issues and drug/alcohol problems. But what happens when it's the debtors and creditors who have these issues, such as small equity-holders and former employees of chapter 11 debtors? This roundtable discussion will focus on the issues the industry sees on a daily basis — mostly in the consumer context, but not always.

American Bankruptcy Institute

$75

Add to Cart

12 Credit States

More Details
Card image cap
59 minutes
Ethics and Well-Being: How to Balance and Manage Competing Obligations
This session will cover barriers to wellness for lawyers, and why lawyers are often reluctant to seek help. This panel will also include achievable strategies that lawyers can employ to enhance their well-being. In addition, this program will review lawyers' ethical obligations, and how enhancing personal well-being and adopting strategies for balancing life’s demands can enhance their ability to comply with these obligations.

American Bankruptcy Institute

$75

Add to Cart

12 Credit States

More Details
Previous Next