Monitors and Monitoring
TLAP provides monitors and monitoring services for the
Board of Law Examiners and on occasion, for the Chief Disciplinary Counsel's
Office and the Commission on Lawyer Discipline. These entities contact the
Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program seeking a recommendation of a TLAP volunteer
attorney to serve as a Monitor for another attorney whose license is on
a probationary status and whose substance abuse, chemical dependency or
mental health is an issue. For example,
if the Board of Law Examiners finds that an applicant presently suffers
from chemical dependency, The BLE will not deny him or her the right to
sit for the Bar or be licensed solely for that reason, but are allowed to
issue a two year probationary license, conditional upon, among other things,
participation in AA or other approved recovery program, regular visits with
appropriate mental health professionals, abstaining from the use of alcohol
or other drugs, attendance at lawyer support meetings, etc.
The Monitor's job is to have personal contact with the
monitored attorney once a week or as dictated by the terms of the individual
agreement, call for drug screens if applicable, determine to the extent
possible whether the person has complied with the conditions relating to
substance abuse, chemical dependence or mental health recovery, and file
a monthly or quarterly report with the Board of Law Examiners or the Chief
Disciplinary Counsel’s Office, as the case may be. The Monitor is not a sponsor of the monitored attorney, does not
monitor the lawyer’s law practice and is not expected to insure that
the person complies with the conditions. The
Monitor is duty bound to report any violations to the appropriate Monitoring
Entity.
TLAP acts as a resource to all participants…the
Monitor, the person being monitored (the ‘Monitoree’), and the
Monitoring Entity.
In developing and implementing its monitoring services,
TLAP uses the guidelines presented by the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer
Assistance Programs’ Planning Guide for Designing and Implementing Lawyer Recovery
Monitor Programs.
|
