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4 Prof. Law. 1 (1992-1993)

handle is hein.journals/proflw4 and id is 1 raw text is: THE PROFESSIONAL LA WY ER November 1992 Vol. 4, No. 1 Standing Committee on Professionalism American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility Monitoring for Recovery from Substance Abuse by Ruth Woodruff Having someone monitor your progress may not strike everyone as a pleasant prospect, but when the choice is between losing one's life or livelihood versus having someone look over a shoulder now and then, the option of being monitored may not seem so bad after all. With increasing frequency, lawyers who have been involved in misconduct related to chemical addiction are being given the op- portunity to enter into recovery and maintain their law practices under the careful watch of recovery monitors. Lawyers who would otherwise be suspended from the practice of law or would continue in a downward spiral toward destruction of self and harm to the public are able to regain their health and, at the same time, main- tain their law practices. This article will outline several recovery monitoring programs and discuss the desirability of recovery monitor- ing of lawyers. Monitoring programs are struc- tured in various ways. One type is disciplinary probation monitoring where supervision of a lawyer is a condition of probation imposed by the court after a disciplinary proceeding. The second type of program is known as diversion, where the goal is to divert a lawyer with a substance abuse problem into an agency or group where help is available before his addiction results in a serious dis- ciplinary violation. The Honorable Donna L Cervini, an associate judge in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois and a member of the ABA's Commission on Impaired At- torneys, explains that in both types of programs, the goal is to protect w that otnl evni Stanfdin~g be-':_ 3 , tween me :and: thafe`Fdrugsr isX that = I'm, goingtodrbpl a -urine sample. ThanikGodfor thiat. Whatever:it: takes.' the public, to ensure recovery of the impaired lawyer, and to assist the lawyer in resuming full time practice. How Monitoring Works According to Judge Cervini, the keys to the success of any monitoring program, whether diver- sion or disciplinary probation, are the individuals selected to serve as monitors and how informed they are about the issues involved. She explains that monitors in both diversion and probation monitoring must be fully trained regarding al- cohol and drug addiction, be able to detect a relapse, be equipped to deal with relapse effectively and compassionately, and be able to demonstrate a good sense of judgment. In an ideal program, Judge Cervini.maintains, monitors would be continually retrained, and given on-going support them- selves. Monitoring programs vary from state to state. Some are an in- tegral part of a very formalized disciplinary structure, others are less institutionalized programs that operate on an informal basis, still others are in the very beginning stages of development. How (Continued on Page 4.)