What We Do

WA Lawyers Assisting Lawyers (WaLAL): a nonprofit promoting wellness for the WA legal community by connecting trained peer counselors with lived experience to engage in empathic listening with their peers by:

(1) Clarifying the speaker’s feelings and thoughts through encouragement, both verbal and non-verbal,

(2) Inviting deeper understanding by reflecting accurately what the peer feels and thinks,

(3) Connecting through validation with the emotions and thoughts that are expressed,

(4) Listening deeply to the feelings and thoughts of the peer while providing reassurance and empathy,

(5) Supporting the peer to reach conclusions and form goals for themselves.

Our Mission

WA LAWYERS ASSISTING LAWYERS (WaLAL):

FREE. CONFIDENTIAL. INDEPENDENT.

WaLAL is a nonprofit, volunteer support organization independent from the Bar Association or any other organization.

WaLAL is a network of WA lawyers assisting other lawyers, judges, and law students with alcohol, substance abuse and mental health challenges.  We are a committed Corps of trained lawyers providing peer counseling support to others in the Washington state legal profession.

As a private, non-profit corporation form of lawyer assistance program, WaLAL operates separately from the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), a government entity focused on regulating the legal profession. In carrying out its charitable purpose, WaLAL is creating a community of safety among peer supporters and our peers, which includes employing confidentiality in peer support.

  • We create a climate of social and professional acceptance and support by increasing awareness about and ending the stigma for lawyers struggling with mental health, emotional health, and substance abuse issues.

  • We foster an environment where peers are safe from loneliness and isolation and can be understood.

  • We do this by training lawyer peer counselors and developing a statewide peer support network among lawyers.

    Who We Are

    WaLAL is independent from WSBA, and a free service to all Judges, lawyers and law students. Lawyer-volunteers constitute our founding board:

    Leslie Hagin, JD (President) lhagin@walal.org

    Washington State Certified Peer Counselor

    Loyd Willaford, JD (Secretary and Treasurer) lwillaford@walal.org

    At-Large Members

    David Huber, JD dhuber@walal.org

    Carole Grayson, JD cgrayson@walal.org

    Oliver Spencer, JD ospencer@walal.org

    Wil Miller, JD wmiller@walal.org

    G. Andrew H. Benjamin, JD, PhD, ABPP abenjamin@walal.org