NYSBA President Scott Karson. Courtesy Photo

The initiative aims to build off a major 2016 American Bar Association-driven study of lawyers' health and well-being by laying out specific "mitigation efforts," or solutions, that can be employed by organizations and lawyers spanning the legal field, according to interviews with the co-chairs of the initiative, New York State Bar Association President Scott Karson, and an NYSBA spokeswoman.

In explaining the launch of its new Attorney Well-Being Task Force, the state bar association said that while the range of health and substance abuse problems riddling the legal profession have been well-documented, especially in recent years, it believes it can help address what appears to be a lack of concrete ideas for aiding lawyers in overcoming severe struggles that many of them face.