Confidential Assistance

A Note About Confidentiality

All communications with the OAAP are completely confidential and will not affect your standing with the Professional Liability Fund or the Oregon State Bar. No information will be disclosed to any person, agency, or organization outside the OAAP, without the consent of the person accessing the program. Contacts with us are kept strictly confidential pursuant to ORS 9.568, PLF Policies 6.150 – 6.300, Oregon State Bar Bylaws Article 24, Oregon Rule of Professional Conduct 8.3(c)(3), and Judicial Code of Conduct for United States Judges Canon 3B(5).  The only exceptions are: (1) to avert a serious, imminent threat to your health or safety or that of another person and (2) to comply with legal obligations such as ORS 419B.010 and ORS 124.060 (child abuse and elder abuse).

Help for Yourself

Reaching out for help can be a big step and is often the first step to feeling better.  Rest assured that your call to us is completely confidential.

Every day we receive calls from lawyers, judges, and law students who want to improve their lives. We are here to help.

All OAAP attorney counselors have experience practicing law and training as counselors. Our goal is to help you achieve greater well-being. We offer a wide range of assistance, including helping you to acquire the tools you need to manage stress, overcome problematic substance use, attain a satisfying career, achieve and maintain mental health, live a healthful lifestyle, and much more. For more information about our services, click on Services on the menu at the top of this page.

When you call, we’ll work to connect you with the attorney counselor who is the best fit for you. We can meet with you in person or by telephone.  We’ll talk about what you are experiencing and help you develop a plan to use your strengths to address your concerns. Often, change can happen in a few meetings.  If needed, we can refer you to outside services for longer-term help and continue to support you while you connect with those resources.
 

Help for Someone you Care About

If you are concerned about the well-being of a colleague, family member, staff person, law partner, or other member of the legal community, we can help.

When you call us because you are concerned about someone else, we will work together to decide the best way to approach the situation and help the person you are concerned about. All information you give to us is confidential. We will take no action without your consent. Outreach is often more effective when it comes directly from someone whom the person knows. If you would like, we can help you develop the skills and confidence to approach the person yourself. Or, if instead it seems best that the OAAP talk directly with the person, we can discuss effective ways for us to do that. We will also confer about whether you want us to reveal your specific concern to the person. If you don’t want us to reveal your name, we won’t. We will reach out confidentially and offer our services to the person you are concerned about. That means that we will not be able to report anything back to you about our efforts to reach out or about the person’s response to our efforts.

We frequently receive calls from people like you who are concerned about another person’s well-being. Whether there appears to be problem alcohol, marijuana, opiate, or other drug use; compulsive disorders; depression, anxiety, cognitive issues, other mental health concerns; relationship or general concerns, your outreach could be the impetus for the person getting the help they need.