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Seeking Help?

Seeking help?

The CBA (BC) Benevolent Society exists to respond discretely to a crisis in a lawyer’s or articled student’s life, and to provide emergency funding and a measure of dignity to the applicant and their family. Directors assess an applicant’s circumstances within one week and, if they fit the society’s mandate, financial support (benevolence) comes quickly.

Addiction, depression, injury and illness are some of the underlying problems that have led to financial devastation and ultimately a request for monetary assistance. Despite the mythology and the fancy education, lawyers often have nowhere to turn when a problem becomes a crisis. Fortunes can turn very quickly, and the progressive impact of alcohol, drugs, stress, or other unforeseeable health reversals can eliminate a lawyer’s means of survival.

If you or someone in the profession needs help, please consider reaching out.

Email your request to BenevolentSociety@cbabc.org.

Directors

David Hay, KC, President
Roger Holland, Treasurer
Terence La Liberté, KC, Past President
Angela Ammann
Alexander Fane
Patrick Haberl
Sarah Klinger
Caroline Nevin
Lee Ongman, KC
Susanne Raab
Margaret Sasges, KC
Kenneth Walton, KC

You Are Not Alone

"The demands of the practice of law can at times seem overwhelming. Client expectations, deadlines, gruelling hours, overhead and the need to stay on top of a tsunami of new information can downgrade our ability to cope. And yet there is a cruel optimism that every crisis we face can be overcome by making individual changes in how we deal with our problems."

To learn more, read "You Are Not Alone" by David Hay, KC & Roger Holland in the February 2024 issue of BarTalk.