Drinking, Drugs

Maybe Not The Best Choice For A Bar Association Event...

Was this inappropriate? Let us know your take...

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alcohol and sorrowIt’s hard to convince lawyers to give up their precious downtime to attend a bar association event. It’s even harder to convince them to attend an informational presentation about a local court program. That’s when a savvy bar association throws together a little networking after-party. Offer some free drinks and bar food and you can get most lawyers to shell out a couple hours of their time.

But sometimes it just might not be the best idea. Like when the happy hour follows a talk about drug and alcohol abuse.

Or is this overreacting? It’s definitely a borderline issue.

Here’s a message from the Eau Claire County Bar Association in Eau Claire, Wisconsin:

Dear Bar Members,

Please join us on January 26th for a presentation by Melissa Ives, the Eau Claire County Treatment Courts Program Supervisor, giving us more information about our treatment courts and the good they do. The presentation will be followed by a happy hour. See the attached flyer for more details.

The Eau Claire County Bar Association will be providing appetizers and beverages at the happy hour.

There are four Eau Claire Treatment Courts offering “a diversion alternative for individuals facing jail or prison time as a result of pending charges or potential probation revocation” dealing with drugs, mental health, veterans, and mothers. As you might imagine, all of these programs deal a good deal with substance abuse and its repercussions.

So after a brief talk about the importance of treating alcohol abuse, Eau Claire lawyers were invited to go get trashed! Not the best optics and a move that inadvertently makes light of the struggles of a lot of the individuals in the Treatment Courts program.

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On the other hand, alcohol use isn’t alcohol abuse. Isn’t it somewhat demeaning of the real struggle of alcohol addiction to act like an after-work glass of wine is an affront? It’s a happy hour, not a kegger. I mean, this is Wisconsin, so happy hour probably is a kegger, but my point is the whole thing isn’t marketed as uncustomarily irresponsible.

Personally I’d put this into the same “I wouldn’t do it, but it’s not a big deal if you did” category as a KGB golden shower party, but others might disagree. Let’s have a poll!

Should There Be A Happy Hour After A Drug/Alcohol Talk?

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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