It was a distinguished gathering.
On June 29, Lawyer Assistance Program staff and Committee members from across the State gathered in New York City to honor Committee members, and others, who make a contribution through their support, guidance and inspiration.
On behalf of the City Bar Lawyer Assistance Committee, Chair Gary Reing honored Bar Director Barbara Berger Opotowsky and Counsel Alan Rothstein. Both are long-term supporters of the original Lawyers Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, now known as the Lawyer Assistance Committee, and they helped spearhead the effort to launch a staffed Lawyer Assistance Program.
New York State Bar Association’s Lawyer Assistance Committee Chair Larry Zimmerman presented the Franklin Gavin Award to Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, now retired, for her “extraordinary courage in being the one willing to ‘go up the river”‘ to address the causes of alcoholism, substance abuse and mental health issues in the legal profession.
Chief Judge Kaye thanked all participants in the lawyer assistance movement whose “decades of commitment define what it is to be a member of this great profession. . . I am so proud of all of you; I shall treasure this reward. ”
For more information, see the NYLAT Summer 2009 Newsletter.