Member News
Local Lawyer Assistance Program Created
The Bar Association is pleased to announce the creation of the Lawyers’ Assistance Program. This is in response to observation over the years of members who may have had mental health and/or drug and alcohol issues. The leadership of the Bar Association believes the time has come to take steps to serve members with appropriate resources and access to treatment. Although the Bar Association does not wish to be obtrusive, we feel we are a community that cares about members.
The Program will serve as a confidential resource for referral to be a local mental health professional for an evaluation at no cost to the member. This referral will be private and confidential.
The following are answers to questions you may have:
The Program will serve as a confidential resource for referral to be a local mental health professional for an evaluation at no cost to the member. This referral will be private and confidential.
The following are answers to questions you may have:
Q Do referrals to this program remain confidential?
A Absolutely. There will be no records maintained in the office of the Berks County Bar Association or in any Bar Association member’s office of any referral to or inquiry about the program.
Q Will the Bar Association members discuss my claim?
A Only for purposes of making the referral.
Q Will this cost money?
A Dr. Rotenberg is willing to do the evaluation and the referral for free if you have no insurance. If you do, he will accept whatever payment the insurance company reimburses.
Q What type of issues could I expect the Lawyers Assistance Program to address?
A Drug and alcohol, mental health including stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, gambling and other emotional problems or mental health issues.
Q Will the program make reports to the Disciplinary Board, Judicial Conduct Board, Board of Law Examiners or PBA?
A No.
Q Do I have to be a member of the Berks County Bar Association?
A No. The Bar Association considers it worthwhile to help any lawyer within Berks County is is experiencing a personal problem.
Should you have additional questions or wish to avail yourself of this program please contact the Bar Association at (610) 375-4591 or Dr. Larry Rotenberg directly at (610) 988-9041.
Berks County Court Rules
Did you know that you can get the local Court Rules from the Court’s website at www.co.berks.pa.us/courts? You may also get a hard copy of the Rules at the Law Library located in the Berks County Courthouse, 633 Court Street, 10th Floor, Reading, PA 19601.
Bar Association Member Profile Update
If you are planning to move or have already done so, please contact Joi Vanstone at (610) 375-4591 or by email at vanstone@berksbar.org to update your information. The Bar Association sends out member news periodically by a broadcast program. The program is designed to send news to the member's email address and if there is no email address in the database, it gets sent to a fax number. If you would prefer to receive emails rather than a fax please provide Joi Vanstone with your email address as well.
Cover Page Advertising Available
Advertising space for 2010 is available on the cover page of the Berks County Law Journal. The Journal is received by every member of the Berks County Bar Association, which presently exceeds 634 attorneys, and the circulation of the Journal has expanded in recent years to diverse subscribers, such as realtors, bankers, boroughs and various other professional entities. For more information on cover page advertising, please contact Joi Vanstone at (610) 375-4591.
