Member Assistance Program ("MAP")

When you are on a road trip and you get lost, you need a map. When you are a lawyer—riding along that bumpy, challenging and often frustrating career path—and you get lost, you need MAP. The Member Assistance Program (affectionately known as MAP), has been helping Arizona lawyers navigate through issues of stress, addiction and mental illness for over a decade. MAP is offered by the State Bar as a service to members either through the discipline process, or on a voluntary basis. MAP has literally saved people’s lives.

Statistics show that an estimated 40% of lawyers nationwide suffer from depression and burnout. At least 25% suffer from alcoholism or some form of addiction. These numbers are well above those for the general population and reflect what those of us in the profession already knew: practicing law can make you crazy. Recent studies indicate that lawyers are 4 times more susceptible to depression than any other profession, and 1/3 of the lawyers polled indicate that their job had a negative effect on physical and emotional functioning.

In recent decades, there has been an increasing awareness of the staggering personal and professional costs attributed to such factors as burnout, stress, depression, substance abuse, and other mental health issues in the legal field.

Some common workplace stressors may be: case overload, inadequate personal or family time, stress from dealing with difficult people – overzealous opposing counsel, unpredictable judges -- in addition to difficult clients. Lawyers often suffer from “compassion fatigue,” or the feeling that they’ve taken on the world’s problems, as well as feelings of social isolation, and the sense of being stuck in a rut.

What are some of the types of problems addressed?

For those who participate voluntarily, MAP offers confidential assistance to any Arizona attorney, judge or law student whose professional performance may be impaired because of physical or mental illness, emotional distress, substance abuse, compulsive gambling or other addictive behaviors. MAP is committed to strict confidentiality. No disclosure of information pertaining to voluntary program participants, including their identities, will be made.*

MAP will:

1. identify problems or impairments
2. provide peer support
3. refer a troubled attorney to professional help
4. assist rehabilitation efforts
5. answer questions regarding attorney impairment
6. provide mental health resource information

MAP WILL NOT...

1. practice law for any attorney
2. provide financial assistance for any attorney
3. institute any discipline proceeding against an attorney

If you recognize any of these, in yourself, or in one of your peers, please contact Member Assistance; it’s a confidential service designed to assist before formal disciplinary measures are initiated.