PANEL STUDIES SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN LEGAL PROFESSION

Albany -- 19-member commission will look at how to address a persistent
problem in court system

With studies showing that alcoholism and drug abuse among lawyers run about
twice the national average, Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye has
appointed a commission to study the problem.

Kaye said her appointment this week of the Commission on Alcohol and
Substance Abuse in the Profession is the state court system's first effort
to address the issue.

"The legal profession -- like the general population -- includes
individuals impaired by alcohol and drug abuse,'' Kaye said. "However,
unlike the general population, lawyers, judges and court personnel are
invested with a unique public trust.''

The chief judge said the commission "will look at prevention and early
detection, as well as identifying all existing and potential resources''
available to assist people.

Studies have indicated that drug and alcohol abuse is more common among
lawyers than the general public, and a recent report by the American Bar
Association showed that 70 percent of attorney disciplinary cases in New
York and California involved alcoholism.

Commission member Frederick Miller, executive director of the Lawyers Fund
for Client Protection that reimburses clients of fraudulent attorneys, said
the studies seem to support what he has observed over the last 16 years.

"The majority of claims we receive here at the Lawyers Fund involve some
sort of compulsive behavior, whether it is alcohol or gambling or drug
abuse,'' Miller said. "I have never encountered a situation in 16 years
where a lawyer was salting away money in a Swiss bank account. These are
really tragic stories in most cases, and clients, even though they have
been victimized, have an empathy for the plight of their lawyers.''

Kaye's 19-member commission includes Court of Appeals Judge Joseph W.
Bellacosa, as chairman, and several local representatives, including:
Terrance M. Bedient of the state Medical Society; Schenectady County Family
Court Judge Vincent J. Reilly Jr.; and Ray M. Lopez, director of the Lawyer
Assistance Program for the statewide Bar Association.