The Florida lawyer addiction program that has helped attorneys across the state get treatment for decades is changing hands. It’s one of many specialized programs in The Sunshine State to assist professionals with substance misuse. But some Florida attorneys worry the change will make people less willing to ask for help.
For years, Florida Lawyers Assistance handled that work as an independent nonprofit. It connected attorneys, judges, and law students with treatment, arranged sobriety monitoring, and built plans that let people keep practicing while they got care. Sometimes it paid for treatment. The Florida Bar declined to renew its contract with the organization and now plans to bring the program in-house instead.
Changes for Florida Lawyers
The Bar has budgeted $736,760 for these services in the 2026 to 2027 fiscal year, enough to cover roughly 100 attorneys referred through disciplinary proceedings and about 50 who take part voluntarily. Some of that money will pay for additional staff to handle evaluation and monitoring. A Bar spokeswoman said next steps are still being worked out.
The two sides describe the split differently. The Bar asserted the nonprofit wanted a funding guarantee that stretched past a single fiscal year, which the Bar cannot offer because its budget requires yearly approval from its board and from the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee.
However, the nonprofit’s president, Catherine Cullen, wrote to the Bar’s executive director that her organization would not chase grants, sponsorships, or fundraising campaigns because its purpose is serving Bar members rather than raising money.
Some Worry Fewer People Will Ask for Help
Most attorneys who use these services get there after a disciplinary matter. But a smaller group walks in on their own for therapy and interventions, before anything has gone wrong professionally. That voluntary side is what supporters of the old arrangement most worry about.
The concern is simple. Telling an outside nonprofit about a drinking problem is one thing. Telling the organization that can suspend your license and end your income is another. Other open questions remain about whether existing treatment records for drugs or alcohol can transfer to the Bar at all.
John A. Yanchunis, a former member of the Bar’s board of governors, relayed that the program cost very little relative to what it provided and to the public protection it offered. “This could stymie many people coming forward,” he pointed out.
The old contract had critics too. Some attorneys who defend ethics cases raised concerns about monitoring costs and privacy. Justice Adam S. Tanenbaum dissented from an April opinion updating Bar rule terminology around substance use. He believed the Bar shouldn’t fund a program used by fewer than 1% of Florida lawyers, even if the cost was less than 1% of the Bar’s $85.5 million budget, and Florida’s annual dues of $265 are among the lowest in the country.
Addiction in a Demanding Profession
The Florida Bar itself reports that more than a third of practicing attorneys misuse alcohol, more than a quarter live with depression, and that lawyers rank fourth among professions for suicide. With more than 115,000 members, the Florida Bar is the third-largest mandatory bar in the country, which means those percentages describe thousands of people.
Alcohol misuse in a high-pressure job often doesn’t look like the popular picture of addiction. A lawyer can bill hours, win cases, and keep every appointment while their drinking steadily escalates. A career built on competence and discretion makes it harder, not easier, to admit something is wrong.
Signs of Addiction in a Working Professional
Signs to pay attention to in a colleague or yourself include needing more alcohol to get the same effect, drinking to steady nerves before work or court, missing deadlines that were never a problem before, unexplained absences, irritability or withdrawal from people you normally talk to, and repeated attempts to cut back that do not hold.
Depression and anxiety frequently show up alongside heavy drinking, and treating only one of them tends not to work.
Regardless of the changes, the Florida Bar still features a free and confidential helpline and up to five free counseling sessions per year.
Addiction Treatment in Florida & Beyond
You don’t have to go through a professional association to get care.
Florida attorneys, and anyone else in the state and country, can search our directory for addiction treatment centers. Many offer flexible scheduling that fits a working schedule. They can treat co-occurring depression and anxiety alongside substance use, and confidentiality protections apply to medical treatment for all professions.
Feel free to also call
800-681-1058
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Anyone who’s struggling with thoughts of suicide can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.