BAR REPORT - NJSBA Drug and Alcohol Abuse Committee changes name, expands mission
NJSBA substance abuse committee changes name and mission
December 09, 2019 at 08:02 AM
2 minute read
What's in a name? Turns out, a lot. The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse is now known as the Special Committee on Lawyer Well-Being.
The Board of Trustees changed the committee's name and mission last fall to reflect a more positive and expansive view that promotes attorney well-being and to include behavioral issues beyond drug and alcohol addiction.
"We are taking our Drug and Alcohol Abuse Committee to the next level, where it can be applied to all attorneys. We're recognizing that its mission is more than just drug and alcohol abuse—it's mental health as well as stress management," said Kimberly A. Yonta, NJSBA president-elect and trustee liaison for the Special Committee on Lawyer Well-Being.
"Lawyers are under extreme pressure and stress," Yonta said. She noted a 2016 study by the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs and Hazeldon Betty Ford Foundation that found lawyers struggle with higher levels of anxiety, stress, depression, and substance use disorders than the general population and other highly educated professionals.
The committee's new name is part of a movement in the legal community to reduce mental health and substance use disorders and improve the well-being of lawyers. In 2018, 18 states implemented or considered recommendations from the ABA's National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being.
Yonta said the Special Committee on Lawyer Well-Being wants to reach a wider audience of NJSBA members with events and education that promote positive well-being and mindfulness. She said the name change, with its broader emphasis on well-being, sends a more positive message and does not single out those who may be struggling with a particular issue.
The committee's mission statement was changed to read: Monitors and promotes the professional well-being of attorneys and proposes programs designed to treat and educate attorneys for positive satisfaction with their lives and careers.
"We recognize that many attorneys are dealing with these issues. They may have a problem that's not an addiction yet, and if we give them the tools and resources ahead of time, they'll be able to address these issues before they get out of control," Yonta said.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Send Us Your New Partners for the NJ Law Journal's New Partners Yearbook
1 minute read
New Methods for Clients and Families to Have Their Estate and Legacy Planning Complete
5 minute read
Tensions Run High at Final Hearing Before Manhattan Congestion Pricing Takes Effect
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1'It's Not Going to Be Pretty': PayPal, Capital One Face Novel Class Actions Over 'Poaching' Commissions Owed Influencers
- 211th Circuit Rejects Trump's Emergency Request as DOJ Prepares to Release Special Counsel's Final Report
- 3Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge to ACA Task Force
- 4'Tragedy of Unspeakable Proportions:' Could Edison, DWP, Face Lawsuits Over LA Wildfires?
- 5Meta Pulls Plug on DEI Programs
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
