Substance Abuse and Ethical Dilemmas

Substance abuse is an issue that the legal profession has contended with for many years. In this course, Mr. O'Donnell addresses the issues that lawyers deal with and how these issues may lead to adverse effects on both their personal and professional lives. When substance abuse leads to ethical violations or even worse, suicide. Mr. O'Donnell delves into Model Rule 8.4, Misconduct, and goes over what rises to professional misconduct. A discussion on depression and how it is 3.6 times higher for lawyers than other professionals, as well as the fact that lawyers are amongst the most likely to use drugs and alcohol to manage depressive symptoms; moreover, Mr. O'Donnell addresses the causal factors leading to this. An in-depth discussion about a real-life scenario on how addiction to an illegal drug cannot be used as a mitigating factor to reduce sanctions for a lawyer’s misappropriation of client funds. This is an important course for an attorney at any level in any field of practice.

Course Time Schedule: 

Eastern Time: 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM 

Central Time: 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Mountain Time: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Pacific Time: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Alaska Time: 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Hawaii-Aleutian Time: 3:30 AM - 4:30 PM