It’s tougher today for a lawyer to get clean and sober in Louisiana.
That statement comes from a very common story in our world today, this time played out in the halls of justice.
It seems this lawyer and crack cocaine user, John Clegg, lost his job over his problem with that substance: He tested positive for the drug twice after completing rehab. That’s not unusual, nothing special. People lose their jobs if they have drug problems and fail to get recovery quickly enough. What can I say, John? It takes what it takes, I hope this is your bottom and you get clean and sober.
The problem in this story was one of confidentiality. A friend of mine who works for The National Law Journal pointed out the story to me, and upon reading it, I became distressed that the Legal Assistance Program has been compromised. The court cut the legs from underneath this helping organization by saying it’s OK for a firm to report a lawyer to disciplinary authorities even if the substance abuser is trying to get help. John was enrolled in the Lawyer’s Assistance Program, had gone to rehab, and was doing the best he could and sometimes people in recovery relapse, in his case, two relapses were reported.
A person with the disease of addiction sometimes has no choice but to chase his drug. The cravings can get that bad. It’s said that alcoholism is an allergy to alcohol, accompanied by an irresistible compulsion to drink. A lot of folks in recovery and in addictions treatment feel it’s the same for drug users. They say a drug is a drug, is a drug, asserting alcohol and crack cocaine are different vehicles to get to the same place: out of the addict’s own skin.
In the old days, if you weren’t destitute, with no job, no friends and without a big pile of debt, you hadn’t hit bottom and needed to go out and use some more till you really wanted to get clean…or hit one of the other three options, jails, institutions or death. It’s not that way any more. The idea that seems to be working for some is to raise the bottom so people get clean without all that drama and tragedy and pain to self and others. That’s all well and good. In many places, the police and courts realize addiction is a disease. Treatment takes what it takes, and they’re fairly tolerant until stupidity like drunk driving or violence or endangering others enters the picture.
The court in Louisiana doesn’t seem to believe in tolerance in this case. Apparently, there’s a law that guarantees confidentiality to enrollees in the Lawyer’s Assistance Program, but it means nothing. When the firm John worked for took enough of a bath in paranoia, they decided to turn his case in to the disciplinary authorities, who ultimately suspended our friend John. The court said that was OK.
I really don’t mind that John relapsed and lost his job. It’s too bad. He’ll get another or start his own firm. What burns me up was the action that led to that. He could have been fired without being reported to disciplinary authorities and subsequently having reporters and people like me plastering his plight all over the web.
That can be bad for a career and a life.
Good luck, John.
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