The Buffalo News : City & Region
Thursday, February 7, 2008
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Depression program for lawyers wins award
By Matt Gryta NEWS STAFF REPORTER


The Bar Association of Erie County is being honored by the New York State Bar Association for groundbreaking efforts to assist lawyers suffering from depression, officials of the 74,000-member statewide organization announced in New York City on Friday.

The State Conference of Bar Leaders will give the local group its prestigious Certificate of Merit for its newly created Committee to Assist Lawyers with Depression, during ceremonies at the state bar’s 131st annual meeting in New York City next Friday.

Erie Bar President Cheryl Smith Fisher said she will be accepting the award with attorney Daniel T. Lukasik, organizer of the effort, whose own recovery from depression and efforts to assist other lawyers was recently profiled by the Wall Street Journal.

A partner in the Buffalo firm of Cantor, Lukasik, Dolce & Panepinto, Lukasik "has clearly struck a national chord" among the legal community about the need to assist those who are depressed, Smith Fisher said.

"The privilege of representing people in some of the most difficult matters of their lives can leave (lawyers) sleepless and sad and exhausted and perhaps this is why lawyers experience depression at such a disproportionate rate," Smith Fisher said.

"Our new committee is dedicated to helping lawyers manage their symptoms so they can continue to function at a high level," added Smith Fisher, noting that an estimated 15,000 lawyers statewide suffer from depression-related problems.

The Erie Bar’s committee on depression is planning a daylong symposium on anxiety, burnout and depression sometime in April.

mgryta@buffnews.com