J.E. Buddy Stockwell III, JD
Executive Director
Louisiana Lawyers Assistance Program
1011 N. Causeway Blvd., Suite 31
Mandeville, Louisiana, 70448
(866) 354-9334
LAP Monitoring: Who Needs It?!
• Persons with Substance Abuse/Dependency or
other mental conditions that can impair a
lawyer’s or judge’s ability to perform his or her
duties
• In cases involving Third Parties such as
Discipline, Bar Admissions, and Law Firms that
require Recovery Monitoring to protect the
Public
So You’re In Recovery? Says Who?!
• Monitoring is required by licensing authorities
to objectively establish Recovery
• LAP Recovery Agreements are designed as an
efficient and effective blueprint for close
supervision
• Recovery Agreements reflect dependable LAPapproved clinical recommendations
Monitoring Versus Confidential Self Help
• LAP never refers cases out to any entity
• Each year LAP assists scores of people
discreetly and confidentially; no Recovery
Agreement required
• Only LAP Monitoring requires waiving
confidentiality
What Does A LAP Monitor Do?
• A LAP Monitor’s role is to be the Program’s
in-person “eyes and ears” and help LAP
document the monitored lawyer’s attitude
and compliance under the LAP Agreement
• The LAP Monitor must take a “hands off”
approach and be an objective observer while
documenting the Participant’s behavior
Step One: Monitor Presents Agreement
• The LAP Director forwards the written
Recovery Agreement to the Monitor
• The Monitor sets up an initial meeting
with the Participant
• The Monitor and the Participant examine
the written Recovery Agreement and
review the terms and conditions
Step Two: Executing the Agreement
• After the Agreement is executed, the
Monitor forwards the Agreement to the
LAP Director
Step Three: During the Participation
Period, the LAP Monitor
• Meets monthly with Participant and
forwards all monthly paperwork to the LAP
Director
• Immediately reports all concerns and noncompliance incidents to the LAP Director
Participant’s Duties:
• Manage full compliance with drug screening
• Make AA meetings and diligently work the 12
Steps of AA with an AA Sponsor
• Write monthly reports about Recovery
• Schedule meetings with the Monitor and
timely submit fees/materials
The Participant’s Compliance Record
• The purpose of participating in a LAP
Recovery Agreement is to create a
documented record of Recovery
• A LAP compliance record is intended to show
what the Participant can do on their own
As People in Recovery, it’s Difficult To
Resist “Helping” LAP Participants:
• It is our nature to help others in trouble
• Our own Recovery requires “giving it away”
• We genuinely want others to succeed
As Lawyers, It is Hard to Resist Advocacy:
• We are professionally trained, skillful
Advocates and we can’t easily resist shaping
outcomes
• LAP and its Monitors can never become
Advocates for the LAP Participant lest we
place the Monitoring Program in peril by
calling into question its objective validity
The Issue:
• Can the Participant demonstrate full
LAP compliance and solid Recovery that
is very likely to continue after the LAP
Monitoring program ends
• Excusing non-compliance to “help” a
Participant who is struggling serves only
to diminish/destroy the validity of the
Participant’s LAP compliance record
The English Channel Rules
• No swimmer shall be permitted to use a
swimsuit that may aid his/her speed, buoyancy,
heat retention or endurance
• No physical contact with the swimmer shall be
made by any person other than to pass food and
drink or secure light sticks for safety reasons
• MP3 players & audio/communication devices
are prohibited
Swimming On Your Own
Support Without Breaking Rules
LAP Never Gives Up On Anyone:
• When a Participant becomes noncomplaint, LAP facilitates a clinicallybased attempt at re-establishing Recovery
• A new Recovery Agreement is offered only
after completing a LAP-approved
evaluation and all recommendations to
identify and treat the root cause of the
non-compliance and re-establish Recovery
In The Event Of Non-Compliance,
LAP Is Always There To Help
Recognizing Different Viewpoints:
New LAP Participants often feel:
• They don’t have a problem
• Resentful and angry
• Unfairly singled out
• Frustrated with the whole system
A New Lap Participant’s Viewpoint?
LAP’s View: New Participants Need Time
• To surrender to the process of LAPapproved evaluation/treatment
• To understand LAP’s role is purely
restorative and not punitive (and not part
of ODC or Bar Admissions)
• To settle into LAP compliance and seize
their opportunity to demonstrate quality
Recovery through LAP
LAP’s Viewpoint: New Law Students
PROBLEM? WHAT PROBLEM?!
LAP’s Viewpoint: New Lawyers
YOU LAP PEOPLE NEED TO FLOAT ME!
There Are A Few In Every Crowd
• Most LAP Participants start “swimming” very
quickly and then get a rhythm in Recovery
•
A few struggle, however, and a few of those
for reasons that are out of their control
• A very few, however, are out to cheat the
system and they will try some “tricks” . . .
“I’ve Got This LAP Thing Figured Out!”
Monthly Sobriety Report Misfires
• “I am tired of listening to pathetic idiots
talk about God while blaming their own
mistakes on a supposed disease.”
• “Choosing not to drink is very easy . . .
listening endlessly to recovery drivel,
however, is exasperating!”
• Abstinence alone is not Recovery
Other Professions and Monitoring
Programs:
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Airline Pilots
All Monitoring programs protect the Public
and support Recovery
Chemical Dependency: Treatment And
Monitoring Success/Failure Rates
• 30 day inpatient treatment with no
Monitoring: 80% relapse rate
• 90 day inpatient treatment and no
Monitoring: 50% relapse rate
• 90 day inpatient treatment and 5 year
Monitoring: 15% relapse rate
Stick With The Winners
When a LAP Participant establishes solid,
successful Recovery and LAP compliance,
we all win: the Participant, the Bar, the
Judiciary, the Profession, and the Public
LAP and its LSBA volunteer Monitors
merely provide the opportunity; the
Participant is the one who must win the
record of LAP compliance and Recovery
LAP Has Over One Hundred Participants
When Participants Win, We All Win!
LAP AND ITS LSBA
VOLUNTEER MONITORS
REMAIN COMMITTED TO
PROVIDING HIGH
QUALITY MONITORING
SERVICES TO JUDGES,
LAWYERS AND LAW
STUDENTS
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