The 25-year old American with Disabilities Act provides protections for the many among us with mental illness.1 Mental illnesses are medical conditions that may disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning. Because individuals with mental illnesses have higher rates of poverty (their illness can be so debilitating as to prevent them from working), most pro bono attorneys will eventually be helping clients with mental illness.2 The following provide some guidance for providing legal services to clients with a mental illness (hereinafter referred to as just “clients”).

VLN December 2015 Tip of the Month – Working with Clients with Mental Illness