What Leadership Role Can the Legal Community Play in Addressing Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)?

Kerry Meyer is the current Chief Judge of the trial court in Minneapolis (Hennepin County) Minnesota. She is also a non-alcoholic trustee on the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous. Judge Meyer has presided over many types of cases in her 20 years as a judge, including over three years as a fulltime Treatment Court judge.

Yvette Hourigan is the director of the Kentucky Lawyer Assistance Program (KYLAP). Yvette graduated from Murray State University and the J. David Rosenberg College of Law at the University of Kentucky. She is a licensed attorney, a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, and a Certified Peer Support Specialist. She is certified in Mental Health First Aid and QPR Question Persuade Refer Suicide Prevention.

After law school, Yvette practiced in Central and Eastern Kentucky as a civil trial lawyer focusing on plaintiff’s personal injury and domestic litigation. She was appointed KYLAP Executive Director by the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2011. She is the Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (COLAP); the former chair of the ABA/COLAP Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee; and former member of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being.

Yvette is the 2025 recipient of the KBA Young Lawyers Division Outstanding Service to Young Lawyers Award. She is the recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion, a humanitarian award, by the University of Kentucky. She was awarded the Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice’s Special Service Award in 2024. In 2021 she was awarded the KBA President’s Special Service Award by President Tom Kerrick for KYLAP’s service to Kentucky’s legal community during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also received the Dave Nee Foundation’s “Uncommon Counselor” Award for her work in suicide prevention in the legal profession as well as the Kentucky Justice Association and Family Safety Foundation’s Consumer Safety Award. This honor goes to an individual who is an outspoken advocate for consumer rights or who has risked their own well-being for the future health or safety of others.

She speaks locally and nationally on topics impacting lawyer competence and well-being, impairment, addiction, and suicide prevention, and shares her personal story of recovery from substance use disorder. KYLAP’s work on lawyer mental health, well-being and suicide prevention has been featured nationally on Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield, CNN, Bloomberg Law, The Guardian, NPR, and in The Huffington Post.

Justice Robert A. Philp, King’s Counsel, is a partner with Twinn & Philp in Edmonton, Alberta, and a respected Canadian jurist, lawyer, and human rights leader with decades of experience in the justice system, public service, and legal profession. Throughout his career, he has combined legal practice, judicial leadership, and public service with a deep commitment to justice, equity, dignity, access to justice, and lawyer well-being.

Justice Philp served as Chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunals, where he was responsible for the Commission's administrative, operational, and adjudicative functions, overseeing complex human rights appeals and organizational leadership. He also served as a Provincial Court Judge in Alberta and as Deputy Judge for the Northwest Territories, presiding over criminal trials, complex hearings, judicial case management, and bail proceedings. Earlier in his career, he practiced labour, employment, human rights, and administrative law, appearing before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

In addition to his legal practice and judicial service, Justice Philp has held numerous leadership appointments within the legal profession and public service. He has served as Director of the Lawyers' Assistance Program, Bencher of the Law Society of Alberta, Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta, and guest lecturer on human rights, criminal law, administrative law, and employment law. He has also devoted many years to mentoring law students and early-career lawyers while serving on numerous nonprofit and community boards.

Justice Philp's distinguished public service has been recognized through numerous honours, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Law Society of Alberta and the Canadian Bar Association, the Alberta Centennial Medal, the King's Coronation Medal, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the Community Service Award from Native Counselling Services of Alberta, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Alberta.

He continues to serve as a leader, mentor, and advocate whose work reflects a lifelong commitment to justice, public service, and strengthening the legal profession.