Studies show that lawyers experience substance use disorder at twice the rate of the general population. Teaching lawyers how to recognize when they may have a problem and getting them help when they do is difficult even in “normal times.” But the COVID-19 pandemic not only made the traditional obstacles even more challenging, but set up some new roadblocks in our path. This presentation examines why preventing addiction has become harder during the pandemic and shares some expert advice on what you can do to ensure that you or someone you know gets the help they need.
Speakers:
David Malow, Lead Alumni Volunteer, Betty Ford Center / Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, Palm Desert, CA
Andrew Struve, Shareholder, Buchalter P.C., Orange County, CA
Susan Page White, Special Counsel, Buchalter, Los Angeles, CA
A former owner of Serenity Lane Transitional Sober Living Homes, David received his certification as a Peer Recovery Support Specialist while working at The Riverside County Department of Mental Health in 2010. In 2009, David worked as a consultant to the Betty Ford Center and wrote the policies and procedures manual for their BFCSL Sober Living program. He received a scholarship from The Betty Ford Center to obtain his certification as a Grief Recovery Specialist at the Grief Recovery Institute in Los Angeles in 2008. Since 2005, David has been the lead alumni volunteer at the Betty Ford Center / Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, having served for over 5,000 hours. In 2009 David was a consultant to the Betty Ford Center for their BFCSL Sober Living program. A lifelong resident of Southern California, David is married to Joey Malow and has a son. David enjoys long-term sobriety & is a current member of CAADAC, CCAR, Recovery View, and The Sober Living Network.
Andrew is a member of the Health Care and Litigation practice groups in Buchalter’s Orange County office. Andrew focuses his practice on complex healthcare litigation and unfair competition actions as well as regulatory compliance matters. He has particular expertise in provider and plan representation, private equity, insurance, and the defense of consumer suits. An experienced litigator in the healthcare field, Andrew has litigated both provider and health plan disputes, class and other representative actions, federal and state qui tam litigation, antitrust suits, RICO actions, managed care contracting suits, earnout disputes, partnership actions, bad faith claims, and payment disputes. He has also conducted numerous sensitive internal investigations and compliance audits, as well as responses to governmental and commercial billing/coding challenges. In addition to leading litigation teams in healthcare disputes in federal and state courts across the United States, Andrew serves as national governance, regulatory, and compliance counsel for a number of companies and many healthcare clients. He is an Elected Member of the American Law Institute, and is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating it confers.
Susan is an experienced commercial litigation attorney with a specialty in insurance recovery. She represents corporate and individual policyholders and has recovered millions in insurance proceeds on their behalf in all types of complex litigation against their insurers. Susan is able to think out of the box, using creative and strategic approaches to both find and maximize insurance coverage for her policyholder clients. Throughout her 30 years of practice, she regularly has represented a wide variety of clients on numerous insurance coverage issues and has resolved complex insurance matters through settlement, arbitration or trial. Susan counsels clients operating in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, pharmaceutical, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, software and Internet technology, financial services, entertainment, and real estate. Acting as insurance coverage counsel, she also represents companies in bankruptcy and advises trustees for bankrupt estates in connection with the recovery of insurance assets for the estate. She also provides risk management guidance to clients to maximize the coverage provided by insurance policies. Additionally, Susan speaks regularly on various insurance coverage issues.