By Terry Harrell, Executive Director (2002-2025) | Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program
The Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program today is available to help Hoosier lawyers with a range of challenges, from severe mental health or addiction issues to grief and anxiety, to situational stressors, career changes, and working on getting better sleep. The agency was established in 1997, and its growth from a budding idea into a well-organized, well-established mechanism for lawyer support has been steady ever since.
Grass Roots Beginning
Lawyer assistance existed in Indiana as far back as the 1970s and likely decades before that. Lawyers in recovery from substance use issues—primarily alcohol problems—would quietly reach out to other lawyers they saw struggling and try to help them into recovery before the negative consequences of their addiction grew too high. There were people doing the work, but most lawyers and judges knew nothing about it. The stigma was high, so it was almost a secret society, but those early predecessors to JLAP helped countless judges and lawyers.
Formal Structure
With help from the International Lawyers in AA and the ABA’s Commission on Impaired Lawyers (later renamed the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs), Indiana formed a variety of lawyer assistance organizations between 1985 and 1997. In 1997, the Indiana Supreme Court created a new JLAP agency with an interim director and appointed members to a new Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program Committee.
The Supreme Court added Rule 31 of the Admission and Discipline Rules to establish JLAP, having examined best practices in other states with the most successful lawyer assistance programs. The Court decided that our formal lawyer assistance program would serve judges, lawyers, and law students. It also decided that our program would be “broad brush,” which means it serves not only people with substance use issues but those “who suffer from physical or mental disabilities that result from disease, chemical dependency, mental health problems, or age that impair their ability to practice; and will support other programs designed to increase awareness about the problems of impairment among lawyers and judges.”
The simple fact that JLAP is a Supreme Court agency makes the Indiana program a bit unusual. Only 12% of the state lawyer assistance programs are housed within a Supreme Court structure; 57% are within a state bar association, and 31% are stand-alone non-profit entities. This affiliation with the Court has opened doors for JLAP and assured us the respect we need for people to hear us out when we offer help.
Outreach
In the fall of 1999, the Court hired the first full-time director for the agency, and in July of 2000, JLAP added me as its Clinical Director (I advanced to Executive Director in 2002). Together, we began presentations all over the state to let the legal community know that help was available. We thought that our “JLAP 101” presentation would only be useful that first year. Instead, we have been doing variations of that presentation for 25 years.
The three biggest challenges we have encountered have been:
- Getting the word out that JLAP exists
- Convincing members of the legal community that JLAP’s services really are confidential
- Convincing lawyers that JLAP will help with many issues beyond substance use
The only exceptions to JLAP’s confidentiality are a written waiver of confidentiality or an imminent threat of serious harm to self or others.
Another surprisingly effective outreach tool has been the use of our JLAP therapy dogs at conferences, presentations, law schools, or anywhere they are requested. Therapy animals have been shown to calm people, increasing the presence of oxytocin, and lowering blood pressure. Many, if not most, people simply love to stop and pet a friendly dog for a moment, and as people interact with the dogs, they are also interacting with our staff or volunteers, which introduces them to JLAP and facilitates further communication as needed.
Interventions
Sometimes negative consequences continue to accumulate for someone even though many people have tried to intervene with them individually. Unfortunately, lawyers seem uniquely capable of thinking they can solve their own problems without any assistance, and they often wait far too long to ask for help. When the situation warrants, JLAP will facilitate a group intervention. Three JLAP staff members have now been trained by the best interventionists I know, and we have had great success in our interventions.
Law is practiced by human beings, and occasionally tragedy can strike: a judge or lawyer’s family member, staff member, or client may suddenly die by accident, illness, suicide, or even murder. When such a traumatic event occurs, we make JLAP available to assist the affected individuals in processing and coping with the trauma. Such tragedies can also impact entire groups in the legal community. When it does, we contact the leadership team of the impacted group and provide a menu of services that JLAP can provide; sometimes we cancel all our scheduled plans to show up and help an organization deal with such tragic events.
Indiana Leadership
The JLAP staff has always collaborated with our peer agencies in other states through the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs. But hosting the national conference in Indianapolis in 2010 really put the spotlight on the Indiana program as a leader in the country. Former Chief Justice Shepard was always a supporter, and he augmented our budget for that event so we could roll out the red carpet for the national audience. Our peers still talk about how great the Indianapolis conference was. Chief Justice Rush further enhanced Indiana’s national leadership by removing stigmatizing and unhelpful questions from the bar exam application, chairing the National Judicial Opioid Taskforce, and championing the lawyer well-being movement.
JLAP Today
Today, JLAP is a well-known and well-respected partner in the legal community. We are invited to countless conferences each year. Legal employers frequently seek our advice on both policy issues and individual human issues within their organizations.
We are actively involved in the Indiana law schools. We have scheduled office hours at two law schools, and we present in law school classes and participate in numerous well-being events throughout the year. Most recently we have started well-being ambassador programs at two law schools. The students help spread the word about JLAP and other opportunities for help to their fellow students and actively promote well-being practices on campus.
JLAP helps individuals with all levels of problems, and we want to help all of us improve our well-being. Help is only a phone call or email away. Contact JLAP at 317-833-0370 or at [email protected].