8 | Fall 2021 | BAEC Bulletin
FROM THE ERIE COUNTY BAR FOUNDATION Your physical and mental health matters. It matters to you, your family, your friends, colleagues, and clients. As attorneys, we have been trained to zealously protect our clients’ interest, sometimes adding considerable stress to our personal lives. Certainly, this is our duty when our client’s interest is involved; however, you can be of little help to your clients if you become incapacitated by illness, exhaustion, substance use or mental health issues. You are a less effective advocate for your client if any of these issues affect you. So self-care matters if you are committed to placing your client first. Self-care is not a choice but a necessity. I began the practice of law in the relative “stone age” of the profession. I conducted legal research exclusively in books (remember those?), dictated documents on recording belts for transcription by a legal assistant on a typewriter. Copy machines we in their infancy. Fax machines, personal computers, email, voicemail, overnight mail, and even the most rudimentary form of word processing did not exist. We communicated with our clients, colleagues and the courts by phone and regular mail. In short, the pace was slower and more manageable. The advent of these
Michael F. Perley President, Erie County Bar Foundation
technological advances has increased the pace of our practice exponentially. Throughout, I have been the proverbial “frog in the frying pan” somewhat oblivious to the increased pressure brought about by hundreds of emails per day, and the need for “immediate response” to clients and courts. Studies have shown that the increased stress is damaging to an individual’s physical and mental health. It can and does push individuals into seeking relief though alcohol or other substances. That is why the rate of alcoholism among attorneys is roughly twice the national average. Similarly, mental health issues exist at a much higher rate for attorneys than the general population. While I do not have statistics in hand regarding physical health, I remember well what one of my law school professors told us, “If you are a trial attorney you will have your first heart attack by age 45.” He was only half joking, and remember, this was in the “stone age.” Why do I bring this up? Simply, because the Erie County Bar Foundation exists precisely to help you as you face these issues. In addition to providing assistance to attorneys in need, the Foundation, in partnership with the Bar Association, is working proactively to provide resources to assist all of our brothers and sisters at the bar in addressing these issues. We eagerly sponsored the “Safety Nets” CLE last spring and, on October 4th we were thrilled to sponsor “Challenging the Stigma” with keynote speaker, Ross Szabo. In addition, in partnership with the Bar Association, we are putting the final touches on a Member Assistance Program to serve as a resource for Association members experiencing difficulty in their lives and challenges in their practice. One of our Past Presidents, PamThibodeau, worked tirelessly during the onset of the pandemic to bring BAEC members an assortment of programs on financial assistance and wellbeing. As we have for the past 64 years, the Foundation stands ready, willing, and able to provide confidential assistance to attorneys who need our help. Over the last three years the Foundation has discreetly provided over a half million dollars in direct aid to attorneys in need. All of this was accomplished so successfully and confidentially that some attorneys in Buffalo did not even know we exist! If you know of a colleague who could benefit from our help, let us know and, more importantly, let them know to call us in confidence at 716-852-1777. If you need help, please reach out! WE’RE HERE!
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