June 2003
The LAP/LaSD 6th Annual Statewide Conference: "The Whole Lawyer"
by Erika Wilson
Lawyer Services Coordinator
2003 marked the sixth year of the Lawyers' Assistance Program/Lawyer Services Department (LAP/LaSD) Statewide Conference. During the weekend of April 4-6, lawyers and their guests gathered at Campbell's Resort in Chelan for a series of programs organized around the theme "The Whole Lawyer." The conference included CLE presentations, an afternoon exercise session, and a Sunday-morning brunch cruise on Lake Chelan.
Presentations at the conference, orchestrated by the Lawyer Services Department, were aimed at addressing mental and physical health, and law practice issues. The conference is a cooperative effort of the various Lawyer Services programs, including Law Office Management Assistance (LOMAP), Professional Responsibility and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Following a Friday-afternoon law practice and ethics presentation by LOMAP . . . On the Road, the conference began with a dessert reception that evening, lasted a full day Saturday, and ended with the Sunday-morning boat cruise.
At the request of the LAP Standing Committee, Director of Lawyer Services Barbara Harper arranged for a presentation by members of the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention staff at Swedish Hospital in Seattle: Lori Downey, Stefanie Hatcher, Lisa Morishige, Kathleen Putnam and Tara Workman. This group started the Saturday sessions with a talk titled "Life in the Balance: Protect Yourself, Protect Your Practice," which focused on the ways in which our physical health affects our ability to be successful and productive at work. A healthy diet and regular exercise are two of the many important components of living a balanced life, particularly for those who work under stressful conditions. Although this message is not new, it bears repeating, and the presentation was a reminder that many things we do every day in the hopes of increasing productivity and effectiveness actually hinder those goals in the long run. Substituting coffee for breakfast, eating a fast-food lunch and dinner, and staying up late may provide more time to push through a big project, but mental alertness, accuracy and focus tend to plummet while stress levels skyrocket. On the other hand, even relatively small changes in diet and exercise routines can increase mental stamina and help fight tension.
Dr. Adrian Hill, executive director of Canada's Legal Profession Assistance Committee and a perennially popular speaker at the conference, weighed in with a more personal lawyerly perspective on the topic "Laughter and Living: Preventing Burnout for Lawyers and Judges." As longtime conference attendees know, Adrian is the kind of presenter who always manages to have his audience laughing and nodding in agreement with him. With over 35 years of experience under his belt, Adrian knows his subject, and he knows how to communicate it to his fellow lawyers. His dynamic presentation this year included everything from how to handle difficult clients to the salutary effects of bran breakfast cereal, and participants responded enthusiastically to the theme of preventing burnout.
Lending his perspective from LOMAP, Pete Roberts covered the topic "How to Feel Like You're Managing Your Practice, Not the Other Way Around." A former law-firm administrator and currently the LOMAP advisor, Pete has established himself as an expert on solo and small-firm practice issues. In this presentation, he reminded participants that everyday aspects of practice are choices that deserve careful thought and consideration. For top effectiveness and practice satisfaction, everything from the type and scope of representation to billing practices and file management must be well thought out and compatible with a particular lawyer's interests and skills.
That said, law-practice management is fraught with difficult decisions and pitfalls that can lead to mistakes and even ethics violations. How can lawyers, especially new lawyers, learn to make good choices about the many issues they face every day? One way is through the WSBA Lawyer-to-Lawyer Program, which is administered by LOMAP and matches new admittees with more experienced attorneys. Jennifer Miller and Donald Logerwell of Seattle are one such pairing, and their match has been a resounding success. Jennifer, who works in the King County Prosecutor's Office, and Don, an experienced arbitrator and dispute resolution attorney, took turns speaking about their match, which was made possible by the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Program. Conference attendees were inspired by the descriptions of the mutual benefits of mentoring. Volunteer mentors like Don are urgently needed right now to be matched with new lawyers, and this presentation showed how enjoyable the experience can be.
Continuing the theme of good practices, WSBA Professional Responsibility Counsel Chris Sutton spoke on the topic of ethical issues in representing multiple parties. Chris currently staffs the Ethics Line (206-727-8284), which WSBA members can call with questions, and he is an extremely important source of knowledge and information for lawyers. He spends the better part of every day providing guidance to help prevent mistakes before they happen. In this presentation about multiple parties, Chris stressed the fundamental principles underlying the RPCs concerning the lawyer/client relationship: loyalty, confidentiality and competence. These basic principles can help steer lawyers away from conflicts of interest and ethics violations.
Wrapping up the afternoon, LAP staff psychologists Rebecca Nerison and Ellen Begley led a session on active-listening and peer-counseling skills for attorneys. Many of the lawyers who attend the annual LAP/LaSD conference are peer counselors with the LAP, which means that they volunteer to help their colleagues through difficult times. Peer counselors do not act as legal counsel; instead, they provide a listening ear or positive motivation for other lawyers to seek help with a problem or get started in a 12-step program. Regular training is important for these counselors. Ellen and Rebecca led small-group role-plays in which participants practiced handling difficult or sensitive situations, such as sexual abuse, alcoholism and suicidal thoughts. While not asked to be therapists, these volunteers need to know how listen to a person in distress and respond supportively and constructively. Peer counselors are a vital part of the LAP, because they understand the day-to-day difficulties of combining a successful law career with a full and balanced life.
On Saturday evening, the LAP honored a dedicated WSBA peer counselor, Judge John Carroll of Richland, who has served as a counselor, mentor and friend to many lawyers in the Tri-Cities over the past 16 years. Although John could not be present at the conference, an award was presented to him in absentia. John is an avid rose gardener, and the LAP had a vase engraved with an expression of thanks for his many years of service to the WSBA and to the lawyers of Washington state. John's kind and thoughtful presence was missed at the conference, but his many friends are sure he will grow some beautiful prize blooms to fill the vase this summer.
Bringing the conference to an inspiring close, a western Washington attorney shared her story of recovery. An eastern Washington attorney, speaking on Saturday evening, had shared insights about rebuilding his life even after personal catastrophe. During a catered brunch cruise on Lake Chelan Sunday morning, the first attorney gave a funny and wonderfully dynamic talk.
Even though the weather on the boat was gray and foggy, we hope that those who attended the 6th Annual Statewide Conference came out of the weekend with a greater sense of clarity.
For more information about the WSBA Lawyer Services Department, please visit our home page at www.wsba.org/lasd, or call us at one of the numbers below. We look forward to assisting you!
Lawyers' Assistance Program (LAP): 206-727-8268
Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP): 206-727-8237
Lawyer-to-Lawyer Program: 206-733-5914
Professional Responsibility/Ethics Program: 206-727-8284
Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (ADR): 206-733-5923
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