North Carolina Lawyers Assistance Program

12/30/2025

“When I first started attending LAP and Al-Anon meetings, I listened to other participants and thought, 'I’ll never tell those personal things about myself to anyone, and certainly not in a group!” For a while, as I listened to others, I very much related to their journeys. At some point, the desire to free myself of guilt, shame, and stigma overrode my natural reluctance to talk about myself and my problems to others. I didn’t feel pressured by the group to do so, but I did want what other people had – relief from the burden of silence.” Read more here:

By Reita Pendry The Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP), through its professional staff and a large network of volunteers, provides free confidential assistance to lawyers, judges, and law students in addressing substance abuse, mental health problems, and other stressors that may impair the ability to....

12/18/2025

“Once upon a time, 40+ years ago, a lawyer made a mistake on a legal matter and had a big 'Oh no!' moment. He thought about the mistake from every angle for days. He could not figure out how to fix it. He was in a panic and consumed with shame. He ruminated; he speculated; he predicted that he would be a laughingstock in his small-town legal community. He concluded the only rational course of action was su***de. Fortunately, he was a LAP client at the time. He told his LAP mentor about the mistake he had made. His LAP mentor said, “That’s what you have liability insurance for – for when you make a mistake.” Read the article here:

By Robynn Moraites, Cathy Killian, Nicki Ellington and Candace Hoffman Once upon a time, 40+ years ago, a lawyer made a mistake on a legal matter and had a big “Oh no!” moment. He thought about the mistake from every angle for days. He could not figure out how to fix it. He was in […]

12/15/2025

This lawyer thought all the talk of “self-care” was lovely nonsense. The measure of her worth was calculated in the amount of tangible work done in a day. Unintentionally stumbling into a hobby, however, where there was no competition or expectation of success brought a sense of lightness to this lawyer’s life not felt in a very long time. Listen to this Sidebar podcast episode here:
https://nclap.org/captivate-podcast/40-lovely-nonsense/

You can also read the full article here: https://www.nclap.org/sidebar/2019_4/nonsense.html

You may have noticed a current trend to talk about the importance of “self-care” for busy people—and lawyers are very busy people. The core idea of this is that we must take care of ourselves in order to successfully care for our clients, our families, and our communities. For quite a while, I...

12/09/2025

Impairment Affects the Bottom Line. When an attorney is impaired due to an issue like depression, bipolar disorder, or alcohol or drug problems, the law firm begins to suffer the consequences. The costs can be as obscure as lost opportunity costs of clients taking future work to another firm or as concrete as a drop in billable hours and revenue, professional malpractice claims, or discipline resulting from ethical violations. Lawyer impairment impacts both work quality and law firm reputation. In short, lawyer impairment affects your firm’s bottom line.
Visit our website for more information and resources:

You have invested a lot of time, money, and sweat equity in the ongoing operation and success of your law firm. A great reputation for your firm is based on more than quality work.

12/02/2025

Practice Perspective: Practicing “The Pause+” allows this attorney to avoid rash, “in the moment” decisions or reactions he might later regret. Read More:

“Stop and count to 10” is an age-old maternal mantra for responding to any negative emotional stimuli or adversarial situation. Our mothers didn’t need to be versed in the neuroscience of how this seemingly simple act of pausing allows us to bypass our limbic system and engage our prefrontal c...

11/24/2025

Stuck? Take Quick Inventory: There are certainly well-known aspects of the legal profession that lend themselves to promoting a sense of emotional isolation from friends and family. Read more here:

Happiness. Despite successful careers and material wealth, many lawyers are unhappy. This emotional inventory can help determine whether your stuck.

11/21/2025

You’ve already been at the office for nine hours. The senior partner is on your case about a research memo you haven’t had a chance to begin. That difficult client who insists on calling several times a week to complain about everything under the sun is at it again. Oh, and you’ve got a brief due tomorrow, and you have no idea how you’re going to finish it on time. You’re exhausted and overwhelmed. It’s only Monday! Read the article, “The Enlightened Lawyer: Overcoming Stress and Creating Balance”, here:

You’ve already been at the office for nine hours. The senior partner is on your case about a research memo you haven’t had a chance to begin. That difficult client who insists on calling several times a week to complain about everything under the sun is at it again. Oh, and you’ve got a brief ...

11/17/2025

As a lawyer, you are like a brain surgeon. Imagine the patient is laid out on the table in front of you. It is your job to operate and save his life. You are bringing all of your training, knowledge, and skills to bear to try to save the patient’s life. Now imagine that you have another doctor standing on the other side of the table—equally skilled, equally trained—and his primary goal is to kill the patient that you are trying to save. Now imagine you have 10 to 12 of these patients a day. And now imagine that after you have saved these patients’ lives (and sacrificed time with your own family to do it), the patients are all complaining about your fee and refusing to pay.” Read the article, “Stress, Burnout, and Balance”, here:

Practicing law is stressful. Practicing medicine is stressful, too, but there is a difference, as illustrated in this example we often use in our CLE presentations: As a lawyer, you are like a brain surgeon. Imagine the patient is laid out on the table in front of you. It is your job to operate and....

11/14/2025

Less Perfect, More Powerful: Self-Compassion Tools for Lawyers

Thu, Nov 20 | 12:00 PM ET | Zoom

Struggling with perfectionism, fear of failure, or imposter syndrome? You're not alone. Discover evidence-based practices to quiet self-criticism, boost resilience, and make clearer decisions under pressure. Learn practical self-compassion tools designed specifically for legal professionals.

Register here:

11/07/2025

Practice Perspective: Following the maxim “to thine own self be true” ensures this lawyer lives an authentic life free of regret. Read more:

I read an article recently about dying people and what they revealed to caretakers in their final days. None of them ever wished they had spent more time at work. Instead, they wished they had spent more time with family and friends. Some also indicated something along the lines of, "I always did wh...

11/03/2025

Hard To Ask For Help: It is well established that lawyers (including judges) have three to four times the rate of alcohol and other drug problems as the general population. There are many contributing factors, including the often-unrelenting stress and emotional demands of the job. Read more here:

Problems with alcohol or other drugs can be temporary or chronic. The most serious form is known as Substance Use Disorder ("SUD"). SUD is not defined or diagnosed by the amount and frequency of use of a substance, but by the thinking and behaviors exhibited.

10/31/2025

“Law School: A Prolonged Abnormal Situation”.
Most people are aware from the outset that law school will be challenging, but many lack the necessary resources to cope adequately with the stresses that law school can bring. Read more here:

For many of us, something profound happens to us in law school, but we are too busy trying to succeed and survive to notice.