A therapy benefit for California solo and small firms, scaled to firms under 25 attorneys.
A private clinical channel for California solo practitioners and small firm owners. Designed to complement the State Bar Lawyer Assistance Program for ongoing depth work, with group rates structured for firms under 25 attorneys. Matched clinicians. No firm visibility into care.
A wellness-aligned therapy channel for California solo and small firms.
This page is for solo practitioners and managing partners at California firms under 25 attorneys who want a wellness benefit that complements the State Bar's Lawyer Assistance Program and gives the firm's attorneys an ongoing channel of clinical care. If that is you, the rest of this page is the briefing document.
CEREVITY operates as a clinical network with a direct relationship between the network, the clinicians, and the contracting firm. Solo practitioners can contract individually. Small firms can contract on group rates structured for firms under 25 attorneys. The intake is operated by CEREVITY, not by a broker, and the attorney books directly through the network.
Our clinicians are independent licensed professionals. Many have worked with California attorneys before and understand the realities of solo and small firm practice: the lack of an in-house EAP, the personal financial exposure of a solo book, and the specific isolation of running a practice without partners. CEREVITY exists because that population has historically had nothing but the State Bar's LAP and the open behavioral health network to choose between, and because there is a middle ground that fits the size of the firm.
Solo and small firm practice is its own clinical context, and it is not the context most benefit vendors are built around.
The reasons California solo and small firm attorneys do not engage with the standard behavioral health network are not failures of that network. They are inherent to how it was scoped. Solo and small firm attorneys sit structurally outside what either the workforce EAP model or the open private-pay market was designed to address.
California solo and small firm attorneys present with a recognizable clinical profile: chronic financial pressure tied to a personal book, the isolation of running a practice without partners or peers, high-functioning anxiety maintained against client-by-client revenue cycles, and the specific compliance and bar-disciplinary anxieties that come with operating without a firm's risk management layer.
The State Bar of California's Lawyer Assistance Program is a structurally important resource, particularly for substance use, acute crisis, and impaired-practitioner concerns. It is not, and was not scoped to be, an ongoing depth-oriented private-pay therapy channel for solo practitioners and the staff of small firms. CEREVITY is built to sit alongside the LAP as that ongoing channel, with the appropriate referrals in either direction when the case warrants.
What changes when the channel is scoped around California solo and small firm realities: group rates that work for firms under 25 attorneys, clinicians who understand the financial-pressure-and-isolation profile, session formats long enough for depth work, and a confidentiality posture that means the small firm does not see who has engaged.
What CEREVITY clinicians actually treat in California solo and small firm attorneys.
The clinical scope is built around the presenting profile of solo and small firm practitioners, not the workforce-wide profile a corporate EAP is built for.
Financial pressure and book volatility
Personal financial exposure tied to a personal book of business produces a particular kind of chronic stress, distinct from associate-tier financial concerns. Treatable, and substantially under-treated when the standard clinician does not understand the structure.
Isolation of solo and small firm practice
Running a practice without partners or peers, often without a meaningful HR or risk management layer, produces a clinical isolation that is different from large firm isolation. Particularly common in the first decade of solo practice.
High-functioning anxiety
Performance maintained at cost. The filings still go out, the clients still get returned calls, the trust account stays clean. The cost is invisible to the clients, the staff, and the spouse until it is not.
Bar disciplinary and malpractice anxiety
The clinical weight of operating with personal exposure to State Bar discipline, malpractice claims, and trust accounting obligations. Solo and small firm attorneys carry this without the firm-level risk management layer that absorbs it elsewhere.
Problem drinking and substance use
The 2016 ABA-Hazelden study put problem drinking at 21% across the practicing bar, with solo and small firm practice not exempt. The CEREVITY clinical posture is to treat the underlying issue where appropriate and to refer to the State Bar LAP and monitored programs for impaired-practitioner concerns.
Practice transitions and succession
Selling a solo book, merging into a larger firm, transitioning to of counsel, or planning succession to a younger lawyer all carry clinical work that is rarely supported. Treatable, and largely untreated when the channel does not exist.
Client-driven secondary trauma
Family law, criminal defense, immigration, and personal injury practice all expose solo and small firm attorneys to client trauma at a level firm structures rarely absorb. Recognized clinically and treatable when the clinician has the modality fit.
Burnout and exit consideration
Recent industry surveys report rising shares of attorneys considering leaving the profession due to stress or burnout. The clinical work of distinguishing depleted-but-recoverable from genuinely-misfit is depth work, not a short intake conversation.
Three session formats, each chosen for the work.
Most behavioral health offerings give attorneys one session length. CEREVITY offers three, because different kinds of clinical work need different amounts of time and because solo and small firm calendars do not always fit a standard hour.
The steady cadence of ongoing therapy. Most clients spend most of their care here.
For work that needs more room than a standard hour can hold.
For work that needs uninterrupted time to reach resolution.
Because CEREVITY operates outside the insurance reimbursement model, session length is set by the clinical work, not by what a payor will reimburse. That is the structural reason all three formats can exist on the same network.
Ready to scope a small-firm briefing?
Briefings are scoped to your firm. We respond personally within 48 business hours with proposed times, group-rate structure, and any prepared materials relevant to the firm size you are evaluating.
Request a briefingHow a attorney is matched.
Matched, not first-served. Here is the process that produces the match for a California solo or small firm attorney.
The eligible individual submits a confidential intake form covering presenting issues, modality preference, professional context, and scheduling parameters. Operated by CEREVITY, not a broker.
Intake is reviewed by CEREVITY's clinical leadership against the network's active capacity, current licensure footprint, and modality availability. The step that does not exist in an EAP.
A specific clinician is matched to the attorney. They receive the match with the clinician's profile, modality, and credentials, plus a direct online scheduling link.
Scheduling runs directly through CEREVITY infrastructure. No phone handoff. First sessions are typically scheduled within 5 to 10 business days of the match.
Care continues on the cadence the clinical work requires, in 50-minute, 90-minute, or 3-hour sessions, without an employer-imposed cap.
Capability comparison for California Solo and Small Firm Lawyers.
An evaluation framework on the dimensions that matter when scoping a small-firm-tier-tier offering for attorneys. Both models have a place; they are designed for different populations.
| Dimension | Typical EAP | Executive-tier platform | CEREVITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network model | Broker layer between firm and contractor roster | Single-vendor platform, W-2 or contracted pool | Independent clinical network with direct relationships |
| Clinician assignment | First contractor to reply with availability | Algorithmic matching on intake-form inputs | Clinical review by network leadership |
| Intake and scheduling | Phone handoff to clinician's line | App-based intake and scheduling | Network-operated intake, direct online scheduling |
| Session formats | Standard 50-minute; capped session counts | Standard 45 to 50-minute sessions | 50-minute, 90-minute, and 3-hour formats, no cap |
| Clinical scope | Acute, broadly applicable concerns | Workforce-wide, executive tier as upsell | Built around California Solo and Small Firm Lawyers presenting issues |
| Modality fit | Generalist talk therapy | Generalist therapy with some specialty | CBT, DBT, psychodynamic, matched at intake |
| Reach | National via roster density | National telehealth, roster variance | All 50 states via telehealth |
| Payment model | Firm-sponsored, in-network | Per-employee-per-month seat pricing | Private-pay, out-of-network, partnership agreement |
| Firm visibility | Aggregate, broker-mediated | Vendor dashboards with engagement | Administrative reporting only |
| Right fit for | Workforce-wide acute support | Mid-tier ongoing with executive add-on | California Solo and Small Firm Lawyers, end-to-end |
What the firm sees, and what it does not.
For a small-firm-tier-tier channel to function, the participating attorney has to trust that engaging with it does not create visibility into their care. CEREVITY is built around that requirement.
- Confirmation that contracted services were provided to eligible individuals.
- Aggregate utilization at the partnership level, where contractually appropriate.
- Invoicing and eligibility reconciliation.
- Nothing tied to a specific named attorney's clinical content.
- Whether a specific named attorney has scheduled, attended, or engaged.
- What clinical issues are being addressed, or which clinician is assigned.
- Session notes, treatment plans, or diagnostic information.
- Any attendance detail at the individual level.
Clinicians are independent licensed professionals operating under their own licensure and the confidentiality and privacy obligations that attach to it. Protected health information is held within the clinical infrastructure, and the agreements governing it are defined in writing before the partnership goes live.
Clinical records, session content, and individual engagement data sit inside the clinical platform. The administrative layer the partner interacts with is structurally separate from the clinical layer.
Eligibility lists are maintained on the partner side and confirmed at the point of intake. Administering eligibility does not require the partner to receive clinical information back.
A Business Associate Agreement is executed where the partnership structure requires it. The partnership agreement defines the administrative reporting scope in writing before the partnership goes live.
What the first 30 days look like.
The hardest part of a small-firm-tier-tier partnership is not the contract. It is the period between signature and the first attorney in care.
A 60-minute kickoff with your team and CEREVITY's partnership lead. We confirm the partnership shape, the eligibility model, the administrative reporting scope, and the internal owner. The BAA, where applicable, is executed.
Your team provides the eligible-individual list. CEREVITY confirms it against the network and establishes the verification path at intake. Only eligibility confirmation flows forward.
CEREVITY provides a confidential, small-firm-tier-appropriate comms template explaining the benefit, the privacy posture, and how to access intake. Designed to be received without stigma.
Eligible individuals begin intake on their own cadence. First sessions are typically scheduled within 5 to 10 business days. By day 30, the partnership is operational and a quarterly review cadence is in place.
The business case for the California solo or small firm owner.
Three axes the firm owner can defend in a partner conversation or a personal decision. The numbers will vary by firm; the structural argument does not.
Owner and key attorney retention is existential.
In a small firm, the departure of the owner or a senior key attorney is not a roster issue, it is a continuity issue for the entire practice. A clinical channel that supports the small population the firm depends on is, at the small-firm scale, a continuity investment.
Performance is the practice.
A solo or small firm attorney running at reduced capacity is the practice running at reduced capacity. There is no leverage layer absorbing the loss. Recovery of clinical capacity flows directly to client outcomes, malpractice exposure, and revenue.
Hiring and staff retention at the small firm.
Small firms recruit against larger firms increasingly on culture and well-being posture, not on compensation alone. A named therapy benefit, available to the staff as well as the owner, is a credible signal in a competitive small firm hiring market.
Questions attorneys and their teams ask first.
CEREVITY is a structural complement to the State Bar LAP, not a replacement. The LAP remains the appropriate channel for substance-use concerns, acute crisis, and impaired-practitioner matters, including the State Bar's monitored program. CEREVITY operates alongside it as a private-pay channel for ongoing depth-oriented therapy. We refer in either direction when the case warrants. CEREVITY is not an official program of the State Bar of California and is not represented as such.
Pricing is structured around the small firm tier specifically, with group rates that scale to firms under 25 attorneys and contract terms designed for owner-operators rather than enterprise benefits teams. We scope the right structure on the briefing call.
Both. Solo practitioners can contract individually. Firms with more than one attorney can contract on the group rate. Either path lands the attorney with the same clinical network and the same intake and matching process.
No. Administrative reporting only. The contracting firm receives confirmation that contracted services were provided to eligible individuals and aggregate utilization where contractually appropriate. The firm does not see whether a specific named attorney has scheduled, attended, or engaged, what clinical issues are being addressed, or which clinician is assigned. This is contractually scoped before the partnership goes live.
No. CEREVITY is private-pay and out-of-network by design. The structure is intentional: it is the only way to deliver the clinical scope, session formats, and confidentiality posture solo and small firm attorneys require.
Clinicians in the CEREVITY network are independently licensed professionals operating under their own licensure and the confidentiality and privacy obligations that attach to it. The handling of any protected health information, and the specific agreements that govern it including any Business Associate Agreement where applicable, are defined in writing in the partnership agreement before the partnership goes live, scoped to your firm's structure.
First sessions are typically scheduled within 5 to 10 business days of intake, depending on modality requirements and scheduling parameters.
Through a briefing call. Use the form below or email [email protected] directly. Briefings are scoped to your firm; we respond personally within 48 business hours.
Tell us about your firm. We respond within 48 business hours.
Briefings are scoped to your firm. Share a few details below and we will respond personally with proposed times and any prepared materials relevant to the small firm channel you are evaluating.
The structural argument on this page is based on the firsthand experience of CEREVITY clinicians who have served on EAP panels, combined with widely-published industry estimates of EAP utilization and California Solo and Small Firm Lawyers-specific data where cited. Specific contractual scopes are confirmed in writing in the partnership agreement before any partnership goes live.
