Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program presents inaugural volunteer awards

TOPEKA—The Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program presented awards to two attorneys at its spring seminar in Lawrence.

Don Zemites Lifetime Contribution Award

Paul Seymour III received the inaugural Don Zemites Lifetime Contribution Award. The award is to recognize longstanding program volunteers who have dedicated significant time toward helping other lawyers, making a tremendous impact in the legal community.

“Paul’s steadfast commitment to helping lawyers is second to none,” said Emily Hartz, executive director of the Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program. “He freely gives of himself to his colleagues in need and recognizes that addiction can quickly become a life-or-death emergency. We have relied on Paul for his legal mind, community relations, wisdom, humor, and vast knowledge of recovery for many years.”

Seymour is a retired attorney in Lawrence. He began volunteering with the Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program in 2004. He was a member of the student advisory group and helped raise funds for the Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program Foundation.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in classics from the University of Kansas, a law degree from Washburn University School of Law, and a Master of Laws in taxation from New York University.

The award is named for Don Zemites, who served as the first executive director of what was then called the Kansas Impaired Lawyer Assistance Program from 2002 until his death in 2007.

Anne McDonald Volunteer of the Year Award

Liz Hueben received the inaugural Anne McDonald Volunteer of the Year Award. The award is to recognize program volunteers who have gone above and beyond their regular duties to better others in the legal community.

“Liz has stood by us and our clients through thick and thin, hanging in there with the most complex and difficult of cases,” Hartz said. “She has remained a constant to staff and clients.”

Hueben is a disability rights attorney with the Disability Rights Center of Kansas. She started volunteering with the Kansas Lawyers Assistance program in 2018.

She was an assistant public defender for the Missouri State Public Defender System and a criminal defense attorney in Kansas and Missouri. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas and a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

The award is named for Anne McDonald, a founding board member in 2001 and former executive director of the Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program from 2009 to 2018.

Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program

The Supreme Court created the Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program to help lawyers experiencing personal difficulties that could adversely affect their ability to practice law and, by extension, negatively affect their clients. It is governed by a board whose members are appointed by the court.
 
The Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program is a source of confidential help for lawyers with alcohol, drug abuse, or mental health issues. It also works with other offices that oversee the practice of law in Kansas. A lawyer can be directed to seek its services by the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator if the lawyer is involved in a discipline case.

The Kansas Lawyers Assistance Program offers services designed to fit the needs of lawyers and bar associations, including:

• referrals for assessments, evaluations, therapy, or treatment

• counseling sessions with a licensed counselor

• peer mentoring and support, Twelve-step recovery groups, resiliency groups, and modified interventionshelp with diversion and probation plans required by the disciplinary administrator or with monitoring contracts required by the Supreme Court's attorney admissions office

• guidance in closing a law office

• legal education programs for local and specialty bar associations or law firms

The program's services are confidential and free. Funding comes from annual registration fees attorneys pay to practice law in Kansas.