A Conversation on Mental Health with TLAP’s Leader

Suicide is top of mind as the first week of September — Suicide Prevention Month — comes to a close. The Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program helps with suicide prevention and a wide range of other mental health or substance abuse issues that lawyers, law students, judges and any other members of the Texas legal community struggle with. It’s free, it’s confidential and it’s simple.

The Lawbook recently spoke to TLAP’s director, Michelle Fontenot, who elaborated on the range of services TLAP offers and shared her thoughts on the pandemic’s effect on lawyers’ mental health, the billable hour, best ways for the legal community to support TLAP and what firms and corporate legal departments could be doing better to support the wellness of their employees.

A preview: “You put on a suit and go to work for 12 hours a day, go home, sleep, put on a suit again, and don’t get your emotional needs met.”