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A newsletter brought to you by WSBA's
Lawyers Assistance Program
De-pathologizing "Character"
Did you have to answer humbling questions when you applied to be admitted to the WSBA? Were you asked if you were unfit to practice, had a diagnosable mental illness, or struggled with your drinking in the last five years? As reported in the current issue of
NWLawyer, in June 2016, the State Supreme Court adopted changes to the APR’s Character and Fitness Board criteria. These changes are allowing for a much more welcoming entrance to legal practice
here in Washington.
Previously, the application asked whether the applicant, in the last five years, had been diagnosed with or treated for a mental health condition. In addition, it asked whether it would affect their ability to practice law if this condition was not treated. These
types of questions were found to be rooted in stereotypes and generalizations about the functioning of people with mental health diagnoses. To overcome these biases, the new admission application asks whether there are current conditions that affect one’s
practice of law. Furthermore, the application asks whether there were previous behaviors the applicant engaged in that would prevent he or she from being able to practice law. An attorney is no longer asked directly about his or her mental health or substance
abuse history. Inquiries into previous mental health conditions described by collaterals must be narrowly tailored according to the applicant’s conduct.
The Lawyers Assistance Program (LAP) salutes this shift away from stigmatizing mental illness and toward evaluating applicants based upon observable behaviors. For our Work & Wellness Day on April 25, we are designing a program to help attorneys battle stigma
and ask for help. This change in the Character and Fitness Board application, alongside the changes in MCLE criteria allowing CLE credit for “Personal Development” related topics, is truly influencing the way attorneys handle their licenses. This is allowing
the WSBA to become a culture that can embrace lawyers with challenging histories and care for them going forward with healthy, positive tools and support.
The Waking
BY
THEODORE ROETHKE
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
WSBA Connects: Free Counseling in YOUR Community
Asking for help is difficult for attorneys, yet the need is great. Attorneys struggle with anxiety, depression, and addiction at more
than twice the rate of the general population. WSBA’s contract with KEPRO, the member assistance program, allows for three free psychotherapy sessions with a licensed counselor in your community. Additional counseling can also be arranged, as are 24-hour phone
support and referral information.
Call 1-800-765-0770.
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