Winter 2018 Gavel Winter 2018 Gavel | Page 5

SBAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THE BENEFITS OF BEING A MEMBER TONY J. WEILER SBAND Executive Director Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with the lawyers in the northwest part of our state when I was asked to address the Upper Missouri Bar Association in Williston. The turnout was good, and we had others teleconferenced in from Watford City and Crosby. In my time as your executive director, I’ve had quite a few opportunities to address our local bar associations, and I always enjoy it. Sometimes, I am joined by the president of SBAND, and other times, I go it alone. Some of the larger associations ask us to address them each year, as they look for programming relevant to their membership. Speaking to our local associations gives the president and me an opportunity to speak about the work done here at SBAND by my staff and me, and outline the programs SBAND offers to you, our members. One member benefit I stress each and every time I speak to local bars is the Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP). All the efforts of those involved with the LAP, and the efforts of the SBAND staff and leadership, are intended to help members thrive and succeed in their professional lives. The LAP receives clients from self-referrals, from colleagues who make a referral, and from the disciplinary system as a form of diversion. Not long ago, a North Dakota lawyer reached out to the LAP indicating he was struggling to balance the work of the profession with his home life and indicated he was struggling with work satisfaction, which was affecting his family. He finally reached out to the LAP by sending an email to [email protected]. This is a confidential email. One of our dedicated volunteers set up a time to talk to the lawyer about how LAP could help, and eventually he was accepted into the program. Once a lawyer is working with LAP, the committee finds that lawyer a mentor. It can be someone in the lawyer’s firm, another lawyer in the community, or a lawyer the client has never met. A Mentor Agreement is signed by both parties, and the LAP helps the mentor craft an Individual Assistance Plan (IAP), outlining what work needs to be done to help the lawyer with his or her struggles. Mentors then provide a monthly report to the LAP Committee, who discuss the progress being made (or not made) under the IAP. The length of time a lawyer spends in the program varies widely, and much of that depends on the issue. Often, lawyers believe the only time they need help is if they are struggling with addiction or dependency issues. That simply isn’t the case. LAP often assists lawyers who need help with practice management or dealing with the stress the practice of law causes. The issue is, often a lawyer who knows they need help doesn’t reach out to LAP until the issues is such that they are a case of diversion. LAP helped the lawyer I described above move forward and have a successful thriving practice. The volunteers on the LAP Committee truly care about those we are trying to help, and want to make sure the lawyer is taking any and all necessary steps to improve their life. Sometimes, the issues are a matter of life and death when dealing with addiction. The LAP Committee is comprised of not only lawyers, but lay members who often have a specialty in dealing with mental health issues or addiction. The members bring a wealth of experience to the p rocess of helping in any way they can. If you or someone you know may benefit from the LAP, please send an email to me, [email protected], or the LAP email. Keep in mind, anything shared is confidential. As a side note, the LAP recently received a team from the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) for an assessment and evaluation of our state’s program. The CoLAP evaluation provides insight into what is being done well by our LAP and offers suggestions for what we can do better. These changes will be addressed by the LAP Committee (and the Supreme Court, if changes to the Rules are necessary) over the coming months. We want to make improvements here at SBAND that help lawyers practice law, and we are always mindful the programs we offer are intended to benefit all our members. Your board of governors and my staff and I are dedicated to doing this each and every day. WINTER 2018 5