Wednesday March 29th, 2023
12:00pm – 1:00pm EDT
1 hour of Mental Health/Substance Abuse CLE credit (***pending approval by the North Carolina State Bar)
Cost: $65
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1580348283457659992
Program Overview:
A recent national landmark ABA study confirmed that lawyers are at the highest risk of any profession for issues like depression and alcoholism. Anywhere from a quarter to a third of the profession is encountering these issues at a given time. Lawyers are high functioning individuals with tremendous capacity to “never let them see you sweat.” This skill is often the downfall for many who may be dealing with these hidden issues. Typically, colleagues are too busy with their own lives and law practices to notice when one of our own may be struggling. In this CLE, volunteers from the NC Lawyer Assistance Program share their experience and personal insight into the specific mental health issues they encountered, the consequences that resulted from those issues, how they began recovery, and what life is like today “on the other side.” The speakers will also share helpful resources and explain how the Lawyer Assistance Program works. These personal stories illuminate hidden symptoms and more obvious behavior patterns that any lawyer can use to identify issues in colleagues or in oneself. For those in the audience who are struggling silently with issues, this presentation often offers the gateway to getting help. For those in the audience who do not suffer from any of the conditions being discussed by the speakers, they learn about the signs and symptoms to look for in a colleague or a friend and that making an early referral could possibly save a colleague’s life.
Presenters:
Sarah Buffett is the founder of the Buffett Immigration Law Firm in Charlotte, NC. She possesses more than twenty years of experience in business immigration and her practice focuses on employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions, I-9 compliance and employer sanctions defense. Ms. Buffett graduated cum laude from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-Law and earned her juris doctorate from Cornell University Law School. She also studied Comparative International Law at the Sorbonne in Paris and practiced business immigration law for fifteen years at large law firms before opening her solo practice in 2015.
Dale Guffey attended Wake Forest University School of Law and has been a member of the State Bar since 1998. Right out of law school, she worked for the global accounting firm KPMG as a state and local tax analyst where she evaluated incentives for businesses considering relocating or expanding to the Southeast. She later practiced law in Gastonia with the firm of Stott, Hollowell, Palmer, and Windham. She is an associate professor at Limestone University in Gaffney, SC, where she teaches a variety of law courses at both the undergraduate and MBA levels. Dale has been involved with the LAP program for more than 15 years.