The work of a lawyer in North Carolina is high-stakes, high-stress, and exacerbated by long hours, which is the type of pressure that often leads to substance abuse. This was the driving factor of why, in 1979, the Positive Action for Lawyers (PALS) committee was formed to help lawyer volunteers assist other recovering alcoholics. The North Carolina State Bar recognized the value of this occupation-specialized drug treatment, which is why the PALS program was incorporated into the North Carolina Lawyer Assistance Program (NC LAP). NC LAP now has state backing as it works to achieve a similar goal as PALS: discreetly providing North Carolina lawyers with assistance in combating drug and alcohol addiction.
At Southeastern Recovery Center, we’re well aware of the need for programs like PALS and NC LAP to provide confidential addiction treatment for attorneys. The career is a breeding ground for developing unhealthy coping mechanisms, and lawyers fearing exposure and career damage might avoid seeking out help from facilities such as ours at all. This dilemma can lead to long-term implications for a lawyer’s overall physical and mental health, which is why it’s important to raise awareness of the fact that rehab for lawyers in NC can be both discreet and effective without any risk to career success.
Article TL;DR: The need for lawyers to receive treatment for drug and alcohol addiction discreetly is one that has been recognized by the North Carolina State Bar. Programs like PALS now NC LAP are designed to ensure that attorneys and law students receive the best possible treatment for their substance use disorders.
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Why Programs like North Carolina’s PALS and NC LAP Exist. Programs like PALS and NC LAP were started to help attorneys that struggle with substance use disorders find treatment with the help of other lawyers who had suffered and overcome their own addictions.
Why Do Lawyers Do Drugs and Alcohol? Stress, burnout, perfectionism are a few reasons why lawyers turn to drugs and alcohol.
The Need for Rehab for Lawyers in NC: A Look at the Numbers. Lawyers and law students have high rates of substance abuse and mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Confidential Addiction Treatment for Attorneys. While most addiction treatments are confidential, programs that cater directly to lawyers will take extra precaution in order to ensure that treatment is discrete to prevent career damage.
FAQs about The Lawyer’s Dilemma: Navigating the NC State Bar’s PALS Program & Treatment. Learn answers to frequently asked questions about addiction treatment programs for lawyers.
Why Programs like North Carolina’s PALS and NC LAP Exist
When North Carolina’s PALS started, it was due to lawyers who were themselves recovering alcoholics seeing the need to offer assistance to their fellow lawyers struggling with addiction and alcoholism. In 1994, the North Carolina State Bar recognized the efforts of the PALs Committee and thus incorporated them into the State Bar administration infrastructure. From this came the formation of NC LAP.
In other words, lawyers that struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol either felt as if standard drug treatment practices wouldn’t work in their case, or didn’t feel secure enough when it came to their privacy concern to seek out these drug treatments. While in general most drug and alcohol addiction treatment is discrete, programs that are approved by NC LAP may go the extra mile to ensure that the Carolinian lawyers are comfortable.
As of today, NC LAP is described as a service of the North Carolina State Bar that offers free, confidential, nondisciplinary assistance to lawyers, judges and law students when it comes to addressing substance use disorders and mental health issues. NC LAP also offered general assistance for any life stressors that may impair an attorney’s ability to effectively practice law.
Why Do Lawyers Do Drugs and Alcohol?
There are several factors that contribute to lawyers doing drugs and alcohol. These include:
- Stress
- Burnout
- Mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression
- Desire to deliver on high-performance around-the-clock (perfectionism)
Lawyers have to deal with constant stress, which can cause them to turn to alcohol or drugs such as opioids to self medicate. On the flipside, perfectionism and the need to deliver on the best possible outcome for their clients may lead them to seek out stimulants such as Adderall in a misguided attempt to ensure ideal performance.
This makes being an attorney a unique profession where at all angles there is a temptation to turn to self-medicating with substances. Rehab for lawyers in NC not only has to deliver on the promise of confidential addiction treatment but must also address these underlying issues in order to ensure that lawyers continue to find better ways of coping with the weight of being an attorney.
The Need for Rehab for Lawyers in NC: A Look at the Numbers
Looking at the statistics when it comes to attorneys paints a stark picture.
- A study of over 10,000 licensed, employed attorneys found a rate of 20.6% having hazardous, harmful, and potentially alcohol-dependent drinking.
- The same study reported that 27.6% of problematic use of alcohol and other substances manifested before law school, while 43.7% manifested within 15 years of completing law school.
- Law students and lawyers were found to suffer depression at a rate 2 to 4 times higher than the average of the general population.
- A 2014 study found that over 3200 law students had high rates of depression (17%), anxiety (37%), binge drinking (43%), and illicit drug use (35%).
Working in law is the environment that’s associated with a greater risk of developing a substance use disorder or mental health disorder, or even both. This is why it’s so important that lawyers in North Carolina are aware of the possible dangers and preemptively work to ensure that they can get proper treatment for drug or alcohol addiction for themselves or for their colleagues.
Confidential Addiction Treatment for Attorneys
At Southeastern Recovery Center, our location in Charlotte, North Carolina regularly visited by people who are seeking treatment for substance use disorders or mental health disorders and want to keep their details private. While we do personalize every treatment, ensuring patient confidentiality is actually the standard it comes to treatment. Still, addiction treatment for attorneys in NC is best served with additional guarantees of discretion.
Programs like NC PALS and NC LAP excel at connecting lawyers with rehab facilities that specialize in serving lawyers. This means connecting patients with professionals that understand the unique pressures associated with the law, in order to serve law students, lawyers, and judges with proper treatment.
If you or a loved one are suffering from alcohol or drug addiction or mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression, NC LAP can help you get the help that you need.
FAQs about The Lawyer’s Dilemma: Navigating the NC State Bar’s PALS Program & Treatment
What is the NC PALS program?
The NC PALS program was an initiative created by lawyers who are struggling with addiction that wanted to provide drug and alcohol treatment to their fellow lawyers.
Was the NC PALS discontinued?
NC PALS was not discontinued, it was just adopted by the North Carolina State Bar and incorporated the program now known as NC LAP.
Why do lawyers do drugs and alcohol?
Lawyers do drugs and alcohol due to factors such as stress, burnout, mental health disorders, and the desire for high performance around-the-clock.
Do lawyers do drugs and alcohol at a higher rate than the general population?
Yes, studies have shown that lawyers do drugs and alcohol at higher rates than the general population.
Sources:
NC LAP Annual Report. 2022. https://www.nclap.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2022-2023-LAP-Annual-Report.pdf
Krill, Patrick R., et al. “The Prevalence of Substance Use and Other Mental Health Concerns among American Attorneys.” Journal of Addiction Medicine, vol. 10, no. 1, 2016, pp. 46–52, https://doi.org/10.1097/adm.0000000000000182.
Lynne Pregenzer. “Substance Abuse within the Legal Profession: A Symptom of a Greater Malaise,” 7 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndjlepp/vol7/iss1/9
“Survey of Law Student Well-Being.” Americanbar.org, 2020, www.americanbar.org/groups/lawyer_assistance/research/law_student_survey.
