Phone: 313 5960216
Fax:
Email: ladonlaw@aol.com
Home Page: google: university of detroit mercy school of law
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Summary Description:

Project Title: The Legal Profession's Hidden Secret: Substance Abuse
The legal culture which law students are exposed to and indoctrinated in makes rigorous demands upon them. They will be required to use analytical skills in disregard to their emotional reactions, advocate positions that may clash with personal beliefs, and place client's interests abouve societal interests. Some lawyers pay a personal price in emotional terms for engaging in this difficult and complex role of being a lawyer. Law students need to be exposed to and better understand not only the professional pressures they will face after graduation, but also how these pressures can impact their personal lives. One such potential pressure that places law students at great future risk is alcohol or drug abuse.

Research clearly establishes that lawyers are at greater risk for alcohol and drug problems than the general population. Professor Gerald Boston stated, "Few professions and academic pursuits are as demanding and stressful as the practice of law or studying to become a lawyer." ("Chemical Dependency in Legal education: Problems and Strategies," Michigan Bar Journal, p. 298, l997).

Law students need to be better education in the area of drug and alcohol abuse. The adverse consequences to the life of the lawyer and to his or her clients cannot be ignored. I have produced a 33 minute video for use in law schools to help raise the level of awareness regarding chemical addiction among law students and lawyers using conversations with lawyers who are successfully recovering from their addictions. Other experts offer insights on how the legal profession and best help assist lawyers and law students in the recovery process.

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Program History:

In September, 2004, the video described in the above summary was distributed free of charged to every ABA accredited law school in the United States for use in Professional Responsibility courses. This unique problem will hopefully be seen and discussed by thousands of law school students who will be in a better position to understand the real life issues raised by addiction problems for lawyers. This project with support from my law school recognizes our responsibility as legal educators to help provide material even beyond any pecuniary gain which meets a substantial need in the curriculum that is presently not being met. The conversations with the lawyers who openly and bravely discussed their addiction issues will leave a lasting impression on those who watch this program and will create a serious climate to discuss many important questions that each and every student will face as a law graduate.

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Confidential Items:

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Expanded Program Description (Optional):

I believe this project will have enormous impact on law school students throughout the United States. I have produced many other programs that have been widely used in law schools, but this is the first program that has been distributed at no charge to every law school in the country. The reason for the free distribution is the belief that the subject matter of the program is so compelling and so necessary for consideration by law students that the widest use of the program was a primary objective of this project.

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Supporting Materials:

I will provide a copy of the video program that is discussed in the description of the program as stated above.