BAEC Summer 2020 Bulletin

8 | Summer 2020 | BAEC Bulletin
FROM THE ERIE COUNTY BAR FOUNDATION
This is my first official communication since taking over for Pamela Thibodeau as the President
of Erie County Bar Foundation’s Board of Directors. I am honored and humbled to assume this
role. Many thanks to Pam for her stellar leadership and tireless efforts this past year. Although
I certainly have big shoes to fill, I am up for the challenge and I am looking forward to leading
the Foundation as we endeavor to help many of our fellow lawyers who are in need of assistance
and support. I also want to take this opportunity to welcome aboard the Foundation’s newest
Directors: Hon. Mary Giallanza Carney, Tiffany Perry, Laura Styka Bloom, and Kevin Spitler and
thank our outgoing board members Treneeka Cusack Fields, Michael Scinta, and Stephen Yonaty.
I follow in a long line of attorneys, including my father, David Sr. (who was President of the
Foundation in 2001 - 2002), who have passionately supported the works of the Foundation
and who have experienced first-hand the reward of reaching out to others in need. Practicing law
can be a tremendously fulfilling and rewarding endeavor. At the same time, though, it can also be
incredibly stressful and damaging to a lawyer’s mental health and overall quality of life. Many of
our colleagues struggle with burn-out levels of stress, family problems, mental health difficulties, anxiety, medical problems, drug and alcohol
dependency, and financial hardship, among other personal and professional difficulties. The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly increased
the level of stress and anxiety for many in our profession.
We all know attorneys who have faced difficulties and have suffered the ill-effects of stress and burnout. Countless studies over the years
have confirmed that over 50% of all lawyers in the United States will struggle with clinical depression, drug and alcohol dependency, and/
or anxiety issues at some point in their career. These studies have found that one of the key obstacles for attorneys seeking assistance for
their behavioral health problems is the fear that someone will find out and discredit them or that requesting help may possibly affect their
license to practice. Especially for lawyers it may be a natural inclination to hide one’s problems and try to struggle through alone. There is the
perception of stigma and judgment tied to mental health and substance abuse issues - but failure to reach out for readily available assistance
can just make problems worse.
There is a real need for help and support in our local legal community, and the Bar Foundation is here to offer that help and support, in a
confidential and non-judgmental manner. Help is just a phone call away and the assistance you will be offered is completely confidential. If
you contact the Bar Foundation, nobody at your law firm, in the judiciary, the Office of Grievance or any of your clients or your colleagues
will ever know that you asked for help, or the type or amount of help you receive. All information and communications are kept in strictest
confidence according to the mandates of Judiciary Law Section 499, Disciplinary Rule 1-102 and HIPAA.
If you need assistance – or know a friend or colleague who does – please call 852-1777 and ask for Anne Noble, or access the on-line
application at eriebar.org/ErieCountyBarFoundation/Application. Your Foundation board is anxious and able to help our fellow lawyers
in need.
Finally, I want to make everyone aware of a special campaign that the Foundation has launched to help support lawyers in our association
who have been particularly hit hard by COVID-19. If you are able to contribute, feel free to use this link: https://eriebar.org/
covid19campaign.
Many thanks for your continued support of the Foundation.
David R. Pfalzgraf, Jr.
President
THE COMPANY OF
FRIENDS.
THE SUPPORT OF
COLLEAGUES.