About Me
Four years to the date after I took my last drink, I stood in the very courtroom in downtown Seattle where years earlier, I spent a grueling month trying a multi-million-dollar civil case. But on this occasion, I wasn't in court as a lawyer representing a client, I was being sentenced for conduct that occurred at the tail end of my active addiction to alcohol - misappropriating funds from my trust account. Addiction causes desperation that separates one from one’s moral compass. I became a person who wasn't me in my active use. There is an age-old adage in the recovery community - Addiction leads to only three places: jails, institutions, and death. I've done jail, institutions, and I nearly died.
I was a highly respected, successful attorney with my own law firm. But gradually, alcohol began to overtake my life, until suddenly, it took everything. I lost my family, my home, my money, my law practice, my law license, and all hope of ever escaping the ruthless cycle of misery that is active use addiction.
My story has a happy ending. Despite being given less than a 10% chance of survival by the doctors at Harborview Hospital, I lived. Despite having a Department of Corrections number, I now enjoy a wonderful, purpose-filled life, free of alcohol and the anxiety and depression that dominated my existence before I found long-term recovery.
Prior to finding recovery, I was utterly unaware of the legal profession's profound well-being problem. Roughly 20% of lawyers suffer from depression compared to 6% of American adults. 23% of attorneys suffer from anxiety disorders, compared to 3% of the adult population. Five percent of the population is stressed afflicted, while 23% of attorneys are stress disordered. Nearly one in five lawyers suffer from alcohol use disorder; twice the rate of the general population.
I got stuck in the hard part of lawyering and self-medicated with alcohol. I went to treatment four times and stayed stuck in severe active-use for over a decade. I desperately wanted to quit, but like the vast majority of people with severe substance used disorder, I couldn't stay clean and sober. I was finally provided the long-term accountability structures that saved my life. I should have found those stuctures after my first rehab stint - A great deal of pain and trauma would have been avoided. If I had been a pilot, doctor, or nurse, I would have been immediately mandated to participate in the protocols that produce 90% long-term, self-sustaining, abstinent remission rates. The program is called HIMS - Human Intervention Motivation Study. It is far and away, the most efficacious recovery program available.
I have worked with hundreds of lawyers and other professionals in related fields since becoming sober. We founded Vivon to bring HIMS-style recovery to lawyers and other professionals.
If you are a lawyer or other professional suffering from addiction or know a colleague who needs help, please contact us at help@vivonhealth.com. We have a wonderful team dedicated to helping others find freedom from drug and alcohol addiction.