Upcoming meeting times

The Lawyers' Group will meet:

March 5 & 19  2014
5:30 - 7:00

We meet the first and third Wednesday of the month at the OBA Conference Centre at 20 Toronto Street, Toronto, Ontario. The Conference Centre provides an accessible, comfortable and confidential space for open sharing and support.

The Lawyers' Group will continue to help lawyers deal with stress, family, addiction, mental health and other issues in a peer support environment. Learn more about the Lawyers' Group.

The Lawyers' Group remains independent, confidential,  and open to all lawyers. Attendees do not have to be members of the OBA or any other organization.

Please share the new location widely as we have moved twice. This will be a long term location.


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August 21 - Lawyers' Group returns to the OBA Conference Centre

The Ontario Bar Association has kindly agreed to support the return of the Lawyers' Group to the OBA Conference Centre at 20 Toronto Street, Toronto, Ontario. The Conference Centre will provide an accessible, comfortable and confidential space for open sharing and support.

MEETINGS begin: August 21, 2013 --- 5:30-7:00

The Lawyers' Group will continue to help lawyers deal with stress, family, addiction, mental health and other issues in a peer support environment. Learn more about the Lawyers' Group.

The Lawyers' Group remains independent, confidential,  and open to all lawyers. Attendees do not have to be members of the OBA or any other organization.

Please share the new location widely as we have moved twice this year. This will be a long term location


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Mad Pride Week: Celebrate - Mad Lawyers and Mad People

This week in Toronto and across the country is Mad Pride Week Toronto 2013, celebrating the best and worst of living with mental health issues ... MADNESS.

Mad Pride Week is important for Mad Lawyers and for all lawyers who advocate for a happier, healthier safer and fairer society.

Mad Pride Week is an arts, culture, and heritage festival created by psychiatric survivors, consumers, mad people, and folks the world has labelled “mentally ill”.

Here is a link to the schedule of Mad Pride Toronto.

Lawyers may wish to see the Dean of Osgood Hall Law School meet with a wild bunch of activists and patients while wearing a fun hat!

• THE MAD HATTER TEA PARTY! and LUNACY, LAWS, & LAWYERS: an update on key topics in mental health.

• Guest panelists:
• Anita Szigeti, Mental Health Lawyer, Toronto, Former Chair of the Mental Health Legal Committee
• Lorne Sossin, Professor and Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University
• Lana Frado, Executive Director Sound Times Support Services
  

LSUC chooses Homewood Human Solutions to run Lawyer Assistance Program

In a press release dated November 29, 2012, The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) announced  its choice for a new Lawyer Assistance provider: Homewood Human Solutions™ (HHS).

“By choosing an industry leader whose core business is to provide confidential assistance programs, the Law Society is underlining its ongoing commitment to lawyer and paralegal wellness. This initiative will help our members better serve the public,” said Robert Lapper, Q.C., CEO of the Law Society of Upper Canada. 

HHS's Services (Program Backgrounder):

include counselling, peer-to-peer support, crisis management services, substance abuse counselling, lifestyle and specialty counselling, as well as on-line resources and peer resource tools. 

For more information, please contact: Roy Thomas, Director of Communications, The Law Society of Upper Canada, at rthomas@lsuc.on.ca or 416 947-7619.

If you understand the LSUC's comment about "peer-to-peer support" in their press release or receive any information from the LSUC, please contact the Lawyers' Group as we would love to share it with other lawyers (lawyergroupont@gmail.com).

The Ontario Lawyer Assistance Program (OLAP) has funding from the LSUC until February 28, 2013

Lawyer Support in Ontario

There may be some changes or complete elimination of the Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program (OLAP) in 2013. To make very clear, the Lawyers' Group has always been and is independent of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program.

From the OLAP website by the OLAP Board of Directors:

The Law Society of Upper Canada has extended their funding to OLAP for the period January lst to February 28th to accommodate the transition process to those clients wishing to access their program run by Homewood Human Solutions.  The Law Society has advised it will not support any alliance between OLAP and Homewood.
As a separate and independent registered charity, OLAP has been serving members of the profession and their families for 35 years, and we wish to assure you that OLAP will continue to provide “lawyers helping lawyers” support, as best we can into the New Year.
Those OLAP clients who have accessed the OLAP/Shepell.fgi EAP counselling services up to and including December 31st, 2012, will continue to be counselled by Shepell.fgi.
We wish to assure you that your personal information is secure, and will remain confidential.  No information will be shared with any entity without your written consent.
We hope you will continue to support OLAP in the days ahead as we work through these difficult and challenging times. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at 416 214-1740 or email toinfo@olap.ca.
We will continue to provide updates via our website at www.olap.caOLAP Board of Directors

Whatever occurs, we will continue to meet and support each other regardless of the future of OLAP.

Lending a hand

If you have questions about the future of the Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program, please follow these links or write to the individuals listed below.

• News Release from the Law Society of Upper Canada dated September 28, 2012 - Roy Thomas, Director of Communications, The Law Society of Upper Canada, at rthomas@lsuc.on.ca or 416 947-7619
• Members of the Senior Management Team of the Law Society of Upper Canada 
• Benchers of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Who comes to the Lawyers' Group?

Stories of how we came to the Lawyers' Group:

Stress and Depression

Some people at work told me to take a break from practice. I had dealt with depression for years but this time it was more intense. I was super nervous attending the first meeting and could barely talk. At the second meeting, I told the very welcoming members of the Lawyers' Group that I was planning on taking a month to recover. The group listened in a way that made me feel like I was not alone. I also got the space to understand that I needed to deal with underlying problems. 

- Tim, First year practitioner, Toronto 

Family, Work stress and Starting a New Practice

The work during my articles was going well, but I was facing a lot of personal family issues, which in turn started to affect my work. I started going to the Lawyers' Group and although it was difficult at first to walk in and talk to other lawyers, the feeling quickly went away and I felt understood and cared for by the group. 

I  have been attending the Lawyers' Group for many years now and it has had a tremendous impact on the way I practice law as well as on my personal well being. I have faced many challenges related to law, including working in a fast paced law firm and burning out, and the complexities of opening my own practice. The Lawyers' Group is a safe place where lawyers can walk in and share stories in complete confidentiality. 

- Mary, Toronto

Listening helps...we listen

Courtesy Technorati.com

How did you find out about and decide to come to the Lawyer Group? Email us at lawyergroupont@gmail.com.

Resources for Lawyers

Get help now. Share ideas and resources. We all benefit from shared experiences and lessons.

If you have emergency needs, please go to the nearest hospital or call 911

Are things getting really bad but you don't want to go to hospital? Call a Crisis / Distress centre

• Ontario Association of Distress Centres (www.dcontario.org)
• Ontario Suicide Prevention Network (www.ontariosuicidepreventionnetwork.ca)
• Gerstein Centre - crisis intervention (416) 929-5200

In Ontario? Call the Member Assistance Program

•  Homewood Human Solutions - Member Assistance Program  - 1 (800) 663-1142

Lawyer Assistance Programs from across Canada

• Legal Profession Assistance Conference (LPAC) |
• Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) | 
• Lawyers Assistance Program of British Columbia (BCLAP) | 
• Nova Scotia Lawyers Assistance Program (NSLAP) | 
• Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) |
• The Lawyers Assistance Program (LINK) | 
• The Alberta Lawyers Assistance Program |
• Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (Saskatchewan) | 
• The Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO) | 
• Law Practice Consulting

The American Bar Association has excellent lists of resources

• Alcohol Abuse & Dependence
• Compassion Fatigue
• Compulsive Behaviors
• Depression
• Drug Abuse & Dependence
• Stress
• Suicide

Lawyer focused Programs and Blogs 

• Lawyers with Depression - American blog about lawyers and depression
• Leaving the Law - articles about alternatives to the practice of law

Local Centres and Associations

• Canadian Mental Health Association - CMHA
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health - CAMH 
• Mood Disorders Association of Ontario - MDAO

We are always excited to learn about other resources. Please send us an email with a link and a brief description of the resource.