Sept. 1, 2026
From Isolation to Normalization
By Kevin Plachy, Dan Crystal, and Justin Bingham
The WSBA Well-Being Task Force looks to enhance the mental health of Washington’s legal institutions
In 2017, the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs issued The Path to Lawyer Well-Being, a 73-page report that depicts how the legal profession falls far short in lawyer wellness and offers recommendations for the future. Instead of simply improving the counseling and educational features of state bar wellness programs, the ABA proposed broadly improving legal institutions. Included in its recommendations were well-being pledges for law firms; better mental health oversight for law students, judges, and public law practitioners; and court rules that are mindful of the pressures they place upon attorneys. Gradually states began forming committees to answer this call, and in 2024, Washington followed suit.
Aug. 31, 2026
Share, Support, Prevent and Recover
By Leslie Hagin, President of Washington Lawyers Assisting Lawyers
September is National Suicide Prevention Month. It is also National Recovery Awareness Month. They go hand in hand, especially for lawyers. We owe it to ourselves, each other, the public interest and the rule of law, to promote prevention and recovery in our community.
Suicide Prevention Month reminds us that talking about suicide isn’t harmful — silence is. One honest conversation can be a turning point in someone’s life. It encourages all of us to shift from a culture of silence and stigma about suicide, to one of openness, understanding, and support.
National Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those in recovery from substance use and other mental health challenges. It emphasizes that with the right treatment, support, and resources, recovery is possible for everyone. It underscores that recovery is more than overcoming present challenges—it’s about building a lifetime of wellbeing, with health, home, community, and purpose as its pillars.
Aug. 17, 2026
Remembering the Need for Self-Care
By Paul Richmond
Law was literally killing me. A heart monitor I wore in May showed my heart was running at beats up to 231 beats per minute. I was in atrial fibrillation, my heart beating out of rhythm, 56 percent of the time. I didn’t notice. I’d had recent procedures for hernia and ulcer, and had gotten my first ever bone fracture, and through it pushed on.
Many of us are drawn to the legal profession by a drive to help people. It’s what drew me in.
Law has given me the opportunity to change many people’s lives for the better. On a few lucky occasions I’ve actually been able to change policy, once or twice, on a national level. Law is also an incredibly toxic profession.
Feb. 13, 2026
The Trouble with Rock Bottom and Why I Really Stopped Drinking
By Anonymous
My decision to quit drinking came after a definitive, marked turning point—but it wasn’t the type of turning point you’re probably thinking.
I had tried several “practice attempts,” which I now realize served to give me the resolve and motivation to make this change in a more sustainable way—but the ultimate shift came through a desire to seek a deeper level of growth and change. One of the common frameworks for understanding this shift is known as hitting rock bottom, but the more I learn about this concept, the more trouble I have identifying with it.
March 13, 2025
You’re Not Alone
Washington Lawyers Assisting Lawyers provides free, confidential peer support for legal professionals
By Leslie Hagin
Inspired by successful, voluntary, peer-to-peer programs for lawyers in other states, Washington Lawyers Assisting Lawyers (WALAL)1 was created last year as a free and confidential nonprofit assistance program. WALAL’s volunteer board consists entirely of lawyers; the average board member has 25 years of legal experience. WALAL’s dozens of peer counselors are peer-trained lawyers across the state with lived experience or interest in the areas of substance use and mental and physical health challenges faced by those in the legal community at all career stages, from law school to practice to retirement.
Recent Posts
Dear Legal Minds
A Q&A on deteriorating mental capacity with Dan Crystal and Adely Ruiz of the Member Wellness Program.
When and How to Close a Law Practice
The process for assessing the competence of an attorney.
Substance Use Disorder as an Occupational Hazard for Attorneys
Know the risks; reach out for help
Pathways to Productivity Groups Launch
Learn to boost job satisfaction and enhance well-being.
WSBA’s Commitment to Wellness
Hearing about another attorney’s personal struggles can reinforce that it’s OK to talk about mental health
