Lawyer Assistance Program Support Services

California attorneys (active, inactive, or disbarred), law students, and State Bar applicants can access the Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) services, which include free presentations, short-term counseling, and longer-term support groups.

Short-term counseling

The State Bar provides free, short-term counseling for those who need help with a difficult personal problem or career transition. You can access up to two free one-on-one counseling sessions with a local therapist who specializes in working with legal professionals on any personal issue or concern impacting work productivity—stress, burnout, depression, career concerns, or relationship issues.

For information on individual counseling services, please complete the LAP/OPC Support Intake Form or call 877-LAP-4HELP or 877-527-4435.

Career support

For individualized career assistance, contact your alma mater law school’s career services office as many law schools provide ongoing support to alumni. You may also wish to consult a legal recruiter in your local market; Stanford Law School’s Legal Recruiters & Staffing Agencies resource explains the types of services recruiters and agencies provide.

General career resources

Résumé and cover letter resources

Using AI in job applications

California law school alumni career services

*ABA-Accredited Career Services Reciprocity Policies*

“Be open-minded to it. It absolutely transformed my life. I had no anticipation or expectation of that.” —LAP Participant

Monitored LAP

Do you need to satisfy a specific monitoring or verification requirement imposed by an employer, the Office of Chief Trial Counsel, the State Bar Court, the Office of Admissions, or another entity? If so, see Monitored LAP.

For law students and applicants

After several months of monitored participation in the LAP, State Bar applicants can request that the LAP provide documentation (also known as an insight letter) regarding the applicant’s substance use or mental health issue that can be submitted to the Office of Admissions for use in the moral character determination process.

“The experience was necessary for me to have guidance through a very transitional period in my life, where I had to really examine what I was doing with myself.” —LAP Participant

More information

Contact us

For more information, please complete the LAP/OPC Support Intake Form, give us a call (877-LAP-4HELP or 877-527-4435), or send an email to LAP@calbar.ca.gov. Contacting us is confidential.