The Lawyers' Assistance Program has developed some marketing messages to call attention to the confidential services it provides to lawyers, judges and law students who are impaired by stress-related substance dependencies.

One of the LAP messages is headed, with seeming incongruity, “Depression, Stress, Addictions … Believe It or Not, This Is an Uplifting Story.”

The thought that something uplifting may emerge from the depths of mental health problems, alcohol and drug abuse is an attention grabber.

Of course, the uplifting part is “where Lawyers' Assistance Program comes in,” the message continues after citations of troubling studies about the extent of these plagues on members of the legal profession.

The American Bar Association estimates that 20 percent suffer from alcoholism or substance abuse. A Johns Hopkins study places lawyers at the top of a list of professions in which depression is common.

The steady growth of new cases encountered by LAP officials, as described in its annual report, bears out the incidence of these problems among lawyers in Illinois.

When Janet Piper Voss signed on as executive director in April 2002, LAP was at a low ebb, both financially and in visibility. Only 68 new files were opened in the 2001-02 year.

During the next year, 76 new cases were booked, and during that period the Illinois Supreme Court imposed an annual fee of $7 per registered attorney to support LAP.

The word spread, and new cases rose to 112 during 2003-04, the first year of funding, and to 180 in 2004-05. The total was 190 in 2005-06, and a breakdown of the demographics is included in the report.

Self referrals, coming to LAP on an average of nine per month, represented 58 percent of new cases, and almost 17 percent resulted from inquiries by colleagues of an afflicted lawyer.

By gender, only 18.4 percent were cases involving females, a remarkable decrease from 25 percent two years ago. This is even more significant given that women represent 33 percent of registered attorneys in Illinois.

Age level does not seem to be a factor. The decades of three age groups from 30 through 59 were, chronologically, 27 percent, 30 percent and 24 percent, with those under age 30 or over 60 much lower.

Highest percentages by types of law practice were: law firms 32 percent, solo practices 31 percent, and law students 11 percent.

The LAP staff started by providing information in 189 of the 190 cases, then made referrals in 126 of them. Peer support was obtained for 35 callers, assessments were made in 26 cases and professional consultations arranged in 23.

Fourteen cases resulted in consultations about interventions, and eight subsequent interventions took place.

Chemical dependencies are by far the largest sources of problems cited by individuals who called LAP, or by their colleagues, family members or friends.

In 141 cases (74 percent), dependency on substances was the culprit. In three quarters of those case, alcohol was the panacea of choice.

Other factors were cocaine (14 percent), prescription drugs (6 percent), crystal meth (2 percent), marijuana, heroin and opiates (1 percent each).

Related to many of the dependencies were career issues among 25 percent of cases, and psychological problems in 48 percent.

Depression, identified in 44 percent of the psychological issues, ranks highest. Next are anxiety, at 18 percent; bipolar disorders, at 9 percent, and attention deficit disorder, at 8 percent.

Suicide ideation and suicide attempts totaled 5 percent. Anger was cited in 3 percent of cases, and grief in 2 percent.

Since its incorporation in 1980 by the Illinois State Bar and Chicago Bar Associations, the Lawyers' Assistance Program has been buoyed by countless success stories.

Because the work of LAP is confidential and professional, those stories remain untold by the staff and the many volunteers who have devoted time to peer support and interventions during the past 26 years.

“While LAP began as a way for lawyers to deal with alcohol-related problems, we now address any personal issue that interferes with professional and personal life,” the LAP materials explain.

“Our professional staff and our trained volunteers can help, whether you need help or are concerned about a colleague or family member who needs assistance.”

More information is available from LAP's two offices: (312) 726-6607 in the Chicago area and (618) 462-4397 downstate, or (800) LAP-1233 toll-free.

Electronically, the e-mail address is gethelp@illinoislap.org, and the Web site is www.illinoislap.org.