Our mission and the people behind it.

For nearly 50 years, John has been a passionate activist and thought leader for lawyer wellness. After a nearly-fatal bout with acute alcoholism in the 1970s, John found it was evident that there was an epidemic of alcoholism and drug addiction among his colleagues. In an effort to combat this plague, in 1978, John co-founded Dallas Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (“LCL”), a confidential support group for impaired lawyers, which became the prototype for hundreds of LCL groups throughout the world. These support groups also led to the formation of Lawyers Assistance Programs (LAPs) in every state in the nation. John was a driving force in the formation of the Texas Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP), one of the leading LAP organizations in the country.

As a result of a severe bout of clinical depression in 2003, during which he experienced firsthand the debilitating nature of depression and at times became acutely suicidal, John realized that the focus on lawyer wellness needed to include resilience, stress management, depression, anxiety, relationships and process addictions. He found that lawyer depression and anxiety was an even more pernicious problem than lawyer substance abuse and that the suicide rate among lawyers had reached epidemic proportions. In order to address this disturbing trend among lawyers, John founded McShane’s Mission: No Lawyer Stands Alone– an organization dedicated to supporting suicidal and impaired lawyers.

John’s achievements have been profiled on dozens of radio and television programs, as well as in newspapers, magazines and journals, including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Dallas Morning News, and a significant profile in the American Bar Association Journal entitled “The Passionate Practitioner.” He is also the author of a critically acclaimed book, The Senior Partner: The Ultimate Spiritual Path to Peace, Freedom and Prosperity, a compelling memoir of his personal spiritual journey.

Terry Bentley Hill is a Dallas criminal defense attorney, mental health advocate, speaker, and writer. As founder of TBH Criminal Defense, she represents clients facing serious criminal charges, with a particular focus on cases involving mental illness, competency, diversion, and alternatives to incarceration.

After losing her former husband—an attorney—and her 14-year-old daughter, Hallie, to suicide, Terry became a passionate advocate for mental health and suicide prevention. Her message, #stopmindingyourownbusiness, encourages people to speak up, step in, and help end the stigma surrounding mental illness.

A former Chair of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program, Terry is a frequent speaker on mental health, lawyer wellness, and suicide prevention. She serves as board member of the Professional Wellness Institute and the National Association for the Prevention of Attorney Suicide (NAPAS). Her honors include the State Bar of Texas Presidential Citation, The Dean Emeritus Award at Texas A&M School of Law, Texas Bar Foundation Terry Lee Grantham Memorial Award, Dallas Bar Association Al Ellis Community Service Award, and Mental Health America of Greater Dallas PRISM Award. She has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas, and Texas Super Lawyers.

David is the Executive Director of McShane’s Mission and the National Association for the Prevention of Attorney Suicide (NAPAS). As a volunteer in the recovery community, David has been a regular presenter at CLE programs before law firms, in-house legal organizations, and international audiences, helping to raise awareness, reduce stigmas, and provide information about the challenges of mental health and suicide within the legal profession. David’s involvement in the wellness and recovery community includes serving as chairman of the State Bar of Texas’ Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP), chairman of the Dallas Bar Association’s Peer Assistance Committee, president of the Dallas Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL), co-chairman of the Texas Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers Conference, and providing monitoring and lawyer assistance on behalf of the State Bar of Texas’ Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP).

As in-house counsel with AT&T, David coordinated with department leadership, Human Resources and Benefits professionals to establish the AT&T Legal Department “Live Well Legal Network”, a wellness program for all legal professionals within the department. David received his JD from South Texas College of Law in Houston, his LLM from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University, and has completed training in Mental Health First Aid and extensive training in Drug and Alcohol Counseling at Dallas College.

Jennifer Eckert is the executive director of the Grace Loncar Foundation which strives to make mental health treatment more accessible to North Texas youth, young adults, and suicide loss survivors. Her work in the mental health space is deeply personal as Jennifer lost her husband Joe, a partner in a Dallas law firm, to suicide in 2018.

Jennifer’s professional experience is vast. She has been an attorney, a legislative consultant, a legal research and writing consultant, and a high school English teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Art in Journalism and English, a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law, a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Texas at Dallas, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Affairs at UTD. The skills she honed in previous positions, along with her education, personal experiences, and passion for mental wellness, have prepared her for the role as NAPAS Board Member.

Outside of her professional life, Jennifer enjoys traveling, visiting her children in Virginia, Colorado, and Japan, snow skiing, hiking, bike riding, going to concerts (especially at Red Rocks), yoga, and playing mahjong.

Because she has been deeply affected by suicide and experienced her own mental health struggles, not only is NAPAS’s mission dear to Jennifer’s heart, it IS her heart.

Michelle Fontenot is the Director of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP). She earned bachelor’s degrees in history and psychology, as well as a Master of Education in Counseling Psychology, from The University of Texas at Austin.

After more than 15 years working as a counselor in the Seattle area, Michelle pursued a legal career and graduated cum laude from Seattle University School of Law, earning her Juris Doctor in 2009. Since entering the legal profession, she has practiced in both nonprofit and private settings, focusing primarily on family law.

Michelle returned to the Austin area in 2019 and joined the State Bar of Texas, where she first served as Grievance Referral Program Manager before becoming Director of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program. She is licensed to practice law in both Texas and Washington.

Throughout her career, Michelle has been passionate about integrating her backgrounds in law and counseling. Drawing on her firsthand experience with both the challenges and rewards of legal practice, she is a dedicated advocate for lawyer well-being. Michelle believes that well-being within the legal profession is a community responsibility and that it extends far beyond checking items off a to-do list. She emphasizes that optimal physical, mental, and emotional health enables legal professionals to thrive both personally and professionally.

Allison M. Knight is an attorney wellness advocate and speaker. She is on the Board of Directors for Texas Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (TLCL) and provides marketing, registration, graphic design, and other technical skills for their annual convention. Allison has been featured as a monthly speaker for the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program Attorney Stories series, where she shared about her lifelong battle with suicidal ideation and perfectionism, as well as the loss of two of her dear friends to deaths of despair. Allison is passionate about providing space for authenticity in the legal profession to reduce the stigma of mental health and addiction challenges. She was the 2026 recipient of the Ralph A. Mock Memorial Award for her enduring contribution to TLCL.

Allison has practiced corporate, M&A, and data privacy law. She is a graduate of the SMU Dedman School of Law, as well as a proud Oklahoma Sooner undergraduate.