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lives. We develop a tough exterior and we repress our own weaknesses. We learn toexpect and give little support to and from our colleagues. We learn to work with otherlawyers as professionals and not as people. It is no surprise that many lawyers findthemselves alienated and alone as people while maintaining a clear identity as lawyerswithin the profession.” 21“Lawyers are treatment resistant,” says William Messinger, a lawyer and president ofAureus, Inc. a St. Paul, Minnesota, company that assists legal professionals and theiremployers with recovery and relapse preventions strategies. 22“Lawyers ask a lot ofquestions and are not self-revealing,” says Messinger. 23Such attributes are generallyseen by treatment counselors as uncooperative behavior and can delay effectiverecovery for the lawyer. Firm problems add to addiction issues. Messinger also pointsout that firm culture often serves as a barrier for the chemically dependent lawyer to geteffective treatment: “The whole [recovery] process is counterintuitive to the legalprofession,” says Messinger. “In a law firm, showing support often means covering upfor the lawyer instead of letting him or her fail so the problem can be identified.” 24Lawfirms may hesitate to approach the troubled lawyer about an addiction problem out of adeep understanding of the stresses and anxiety that the practice of law brings, as wellas the shame and stigma that their colleagues face when seeking help. Worse yet,some firms with knowledge of a lawyer’s past addictive behavior and sudden relapse21 See note 9, supra.22 See note 4, supra.23 Id.24 Id.10