The lie is over - we do recover.

• Author: Cohen, Myer J.
• Position: Florida Bar Assn.'s Florida Lawyer Assistance program

A network of recovering attorneys and judges carries the message to fellow members of their profession that recovery is possible.

"Once a drunk, always a drunk." How many times have we heard colleagues say this about another attorney after his or her latest escapade, brush with the law, or embarrassing scene at the office party?

Unfortunately, in many segments of society, including the law, this belief is stated as a fact, despite evidence compiled over the past six decades that recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction is possible.

Before describing Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc., the Bar's program to help impaired attorneys, one must first review some of the attitudes, behaviors, and preconceptions held by attorneys and judges.

To begin with, the legal profession clearly qualifies as a high-stress occupation. Beginning in law school, the attorney is taught that he or she is a problem-solver whose opinions are sought and valued not only by clients, but by the public as well. Lawyers are regarded as learned individuals who possess knowledge in nonlegal as well as legal matters. Attorneys have historically comprised the majority of federal and state legislators, and are consistently elected by the general public as the individuals most qualified to analyze and decide the important political, economic, and financial problems of the day.

The medical field has long recognized that the use of drugs, including alcohol, increases proportionally with the degree of stress and pressure in one's life.[1] Attorneys tend to take their role as problem-solvers seriously, and believe there is little they cannot handle by using effort and concentration.

All too often, though, the use of alcohol and other drugs becomes a primary relief mechanism to deal with the strain of constantly having to come up with the right answer to other people's problems. In many other instances, having a few drinks with one's colleagues at "the other bar" is the acceptable and expected means of celebrating a victory or dulling the pain of a defeat. Attorneys are taught that no problem is insurmountable, that no challenge cannot be overcome by the use of one's keen intellect and training. Taking a few drinks, doing a little cocaine, or taking a few pills only enhances this belief.

This thought process represents the greatest impediment to a lawyer's recovery from chemical dependency. Trying to think one's way out of addiction is as effective as believing that a person can use willpower to cure herself of diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.

The disease model of alcoholism was first proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935[2] and has been accepted by the American Medical Association since 1953. This model of addiction recognizes that the compulsive use of mood-altering chemicals is not a question of morality, weakness of character, or lack of willpower. In recent years, medical studies have confirmed that the prevailing characteristic of addiction is biochemical, i.e., that measurable differences in action of neurotransmitters can be found in the brains of addicts.[3] These biochemical differences appear to be genetic, although the onset and progression of the disease can be affected, positively or negatively, by environmental and psychological factors. Addiction is characterized as chronic (an addict is never "cured"), progressive (the illness always gets worse if ignored), and invariably fatal if left untreated. The symptoms and effects of the illness are well-documented and recognizable to the trained professional, but the progression of the illness can be arrested at any point with proper treatment and institution of a daily recovery program.

Faced with their own or another's alcoholism or addiction, the attorney's initial reaction is almost always, "I can handle it myself." Such an attitude is akin to saying, "I can self-treat these pains I'm having in my chest." By training, lawyers become to a greater or lesser degree the creatures of their own image or persona. How can they ask for help when they have been told they are society's problem-solvers? They tell themselves that they are the experts at everything, that no one could provide better counsel. If unchecked, the end results of such impaired thinking and denial are always medical, legal, and disciplinary problems, eventually leading to loss of one's license, career, and life.

Historical Perspective

In 1976 the Florida Supreme Court specifically recognized the disease concept of alcoholism and ruled that the presence of the illness could be taken into consideration when determining sanctions to be imposed on an attorney.[4] Following this decision, the court in 1979 directed The Florida Bar to establish a commission on alcohol and drug abuse, charging the commission with assisting and monitoring chemically dependent attorneys during and after the grievance process. The court also expressed its hope that the commission would be able to identify and assist affected lawyers prior to disciplinary proceedings being filed. The commission eventually evolved into the Special Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (the committee).

In 1981 the committee issued a report containing the following recommendations:

1) Establishment of a statewide, toll-free hotline through which chemically dependent attorneys could obtain help.

2) Establishment of an independent Alcohol Advisory Committee to assist the court and the Bar in disciplinary cases where chemical dependency was involved.

3) Establishment of an educational program, including speakers to appear at local bar meetings, to inform attorneys of the problem, and to let chemically dependent attorneys know that help was available.

In 1985 the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar were...