Judge Robert L. Childers named leadership award recipient

CENTER CITY, MN — The Hazelden Legal Professionals Program awarded its first “Excellence in Legal Community Leadership Award” to Judge Robert L. Childers of Tennessee, immediate past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs.

Link Christin, Hazelden’s Legal Professionals Program Director, presented the award to Judge Childers on Saturday evening, October 6th as part of the annual Legal Professionals Retreat at Hazelden’s Dan Anderson Renewal Center in Center City, Minnesota. Also on hand to honor the Judge were Mark Mishek, President and CEO of the Hazelden Foundation, Patrick Krill, Assistant Director of the Legal Professionals Program and Sheila Murphy, Director of Women’s Clinical Services at Hazelden, Center City. 

Judge Childers’ record of helping others is long, Christin mentioned  in his introduction, while noting “I am honored to present this first annual leadership award to a true giant in the field, a person who has literally dedicated his professional life to helping others triumph over addiction in our legal profession.”

The award recognizes Judge Childers’ extensive accomplishments in helping legal professionals find help for addiction through legal assistance programs -- confidential services for attorneys struggling with addiction, depression, anxiety, stress and burnout, anger or grief.

Judge Childers is a Circuit Court Judge in the 30th Judicial District, serving Shelby County.