Canadian Lawyer 4Students

resources Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program: a confi dential program that provides services including professional counselling, peer support, assessment, resource information, and referrals to specialized pro- grams and centres (similar programs available in other provinces). olap.ca Canadian Bar Association's Legal Profession Assistance Conference: provides a network of lawyer assistance programs as well as a 24-hour helpline. lpac.ca LawPRO: has an abundance of wellness and balance resources along with an online coaching centre. practicepro.ca/occ/ Mental Health First Aid Canada: off ers training courses to teach people how to recognize signs and symptoms of those with mental-health issues and how to intervene and guide them towards help. mentalhealthfi rstaid.ca Lawyers With Depression: a web site created by Dan Lukasik, managing partner at New York law fi rm Bernhardi & Lukasik PLLC, to help legal professionals cope with depression. lawyerswithdepression.com Attorney Work Life Balance Calculator: an online tool to assess your work-life balance. envoyglobal.net/jdbliss/test/ calculator2.htm Student Services: your law school's student services offi ce is there to help you with any issue you might have, including a mental- health concern. It usually has counsellors available, too. — HG he tells 4Students. "So a person puts pressure on themselves not to stick out, not to be diff erent, not to be perceived as being diff erent mentally because they risk outing themselves as suff ering from some kind of mental-health condition." Since then, Karu decided not to pur- sue articling and to get out of the law al- together. He recently secured a job as a tax analyst at a large Canadian bank. "I wanted to be at a place where they un- derstood that I was going to be diff er- ent than the rest of their hires. I know I work diff erently, I process information diff erently, and I need diff erent support in order to do legal work. I wanted to be in a work environment where that was understood, accepted, and appreciated," and well-being seminars." In addition, the Ontario Human Rights Code states that employers have a legal obligation to accommodate mental illness in the workplace. Mary Wahbi, a managing partner at Basman Smith LLP in Toronto, agrees that the degree to which the fi rm is ac- cepting of mental illness depends on its culture. "I think a lot of it really is fi rm culture; how confi dent and comfortable are people in working at this place and can they show some vulnerability with- out thinking that it's going to aff ect their careers," she says. Basman Smith, which currently has 22 lawyers, tries to maintain an open- door policy so everyone feels comfort- I think a lot of it really is fi rm culture; how confi dent and comfortable are people in working at this place and can they show some vulnerability without thinking that it's going to affect their careers. Mary Wahbi, Basman Smith LLP he says. Dr. David Goldbloom, a senior medi- cal adviser at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and a psychiatry professor at the University of Toronto, has spoken to several law fi rms about mental health in the workplace. "When mental they erode their ability to function to their best potential — cognitively, emo- tionally, interpersonally — so that is a huge risk for law fi rms," he says. "Th e bigger issue is what is the culture and cli- mate in law fi rms around people disclos- ing, around people getting help, around people taking time off when they need it." illnesses aff ect people, fi rms. "I think the very fact that law fi rms now have this on the agenda for continuing education . . . is a sign that the culture is changing, He seeks a brighter future for law are things that were really never talked about and now they can be the subject of either diversity seminars or health " he says. "Th ese able confi ding in others at the fi rm, says Wahbi. Although the fi rm doesn't have any articling students at the moment, Wahbi has been a mentor to articling students and young associates in the past. She says an associate who recently went on sick leave was able to talk to a couple of people in management about the issue and everyone has been very un- derstanding. Doron Gold, a case manager at the Ontario Lawyers' Assistance Program, says sometimes all people need is some- one to talk to, and if lawyers don't feel comfortable confi ding in people at their fi rm, OLAP off ers a free, confi dential service to talk to a lawyer. "What they'll get is somebody who gets what it's like being in the profession. We've been through law school, I talk to law students all the time. Th ey won't get the judgment that they may expect and they may feel from other colleagues," he says. Th e most common concern he hears from law students is that they feel so C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS FALL 2012 21

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