Confidential therapy for New York litigation partners, above the EAP.
Litigation partners carry adversarial, high-stakes work, a book of business they have to keep feeding, and an image they cannot afford to crack, and most will not take any of it to a firm-run employee assistance program. CEREVITY gives a firm a confidential, private-pay therapy benefit for its partners, matched by hand and delivered so that nothing routes through the firm health plan.
What CEREVITY is.
A nationwide network of independent licensed clinicians, offered as a confidential benefit for a firm's partners.
CEREVITY is a nationwide network of independent licensed clinicians providing private-pay therapy by secure telehealth across all 50 states. It is not an app, not a coaching marketplace, and not an employee assistance program. Each partner is matched by hand to a clinician who understands high-stakes professional work, and keeps that clinician over time.
For the firm, the model is simple to reason about. Care is private-pay with no insurance claim filed, so nothing routes through the firm health plan and no claim record is created. The benefit sits above any existing EAP rather than replacing it, aimed at the partners whose steadiness and continuity most directly shape the firm.
CEREVITY runs the same structure across the profession, from partner-level benefits at AmLaw 100 firms to arrangements for equity partners specifically. The New York litigation version is built for the partners a firm can least afford to lose.Why litigation partners are different.
The pressure on a New York litigation partner is not the same pressure, and the standard benefit was not built for it.
A litigation partner lives in an adversarial system where someone loses every time, carries a book of business that has to keep growing, and does it in the most demanding legal market in the country. The profession's own data on the mental health crisis in law only sharpens at this level.
This is established, not speculative, as our summary of what the ABA research shows makes clear.
of licensed lawyers reported experiencing anxiety, and litigation concentrates that pressure at the top of the firm. Source: American Bar Association and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, 2016 (Krill et al., Journal of Addiction Medicine).
The specific practice areas carry their own pressures, from bet-the-company disputes to regulatory fights, close to what we see in antitrust and complex litigation.
A generic EAP, designed for high-volume short-term employee support, is structurally mismatched to this population. Partners rarely use it, both because the format does not fit and because they fear that reaching out could reach the firm or the bar. That fear is measurable, as our note on why so many lawyers fear therapy ends a career documents. The need goes unmet quietly, which is the most expensive way for it to go unmet.
What partners actually bring to the work.
The presenting issues behind the wins, in the language of the firm.
The adversarial nervous system
A career spent in conflict keeps the body on alert long after the deposition ends, close to the pattern we treat in anxiety in trial attorneys.
Always feeding the book
Rainmaking never stops, and the pressure to originate compounds the pressure to bill. Working with that specific load is the focus of therapy for lawyers facing billable-hour burnout.
Fine on the surface
Partners are the last people who can look shaken, so real depression stays hidden. This is the territory of high-functioning depression in lawyers.
Made partner, feel empty
The reward at the top does not always feel like one, and few partners have anywhere to say so. That gap is the subject of therapy for attorneys who made partner and feel empty.
Carrying the firm
Partners hold the workloads, the clients, and the associates, and rarely tend to themselves, the subject of our work on managing partner stress.
The bar looming
Concern about state bar reporting keeps some partners from care they need. The reality is narrower than the worry, as our note on therapy and state bar reporting concerns explains.
What partners want
Partners will engage with care that respects their time and their standing, and not much else. We cover the specifics in what BigLaw partners want from a therapist.
Why it runs so deep
The pattern is structural, not personal, which is part of why lawyers experience higher rates of depression than comparable professions.
The firm depends on the partner to never look rattled. That expectation is exactly why the partner has nowhere to be honest.
Session formats built for trial calendars.
Three lengths, no rigid weekly slot.
The steady cadence of ongoing therapy. Most clients spend most of their care in 50-minute sessions.
For work that needs more room than a standard hour can hold. See 90-minute sessions.
For work that needs uninterrupted time to reach resolution. See 3-hour therapy intensives.
Care is delivered in 50-minute, 90-minute, and 3-hour sessions by secure telehealth, nationwide. A partner can do focused work in a single 90-minute or 3-hour block between matters rather than forcing a standing weekly appointment that a trial will break. Modality is matched at intake rather than assigned, and the partner keeps the same clinician throughout. When the situation is urgent, same-week access is the norm rather than the exception.
Protect the partners the firm is built on.
A confidential conversation about a partner-tier benefit takes one call. Nothing about it touches the firm health plan.
Start a partnership conversationHow a partner is matched.
Every partner is matched by hand, not by an algorithm running against an intake form. Matching is reviewed by CEREVITY's clinical leadership, with the partner's practice, schedule, and preferences weighed before any introduction is made.
The eligible individual submits a confidential intake form covering presenting issues, modality preference, professional context, and scheduling parameters. Operated by CEREVITY directly, not by a broker.
Intake is reviewed by CEREVITY's clinical leadership against the network's active capacity, current licensure footprint, and modality availability. This is the step that does not exist in an EAP. You can review the clinicians in the network directly.
A specific clinician is matched to the partner, who receives the match with the clinician's profile, modality, and credentials, plus a direct online scheduling link. If you are doing this for someone else, see how to find a therapist for your CEO.
Scheduling runs directly through CEREVITY infrastructure with 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 session cap.
Capability comparison for NYC litigation partners.
An evaluation framework on the dimensions that matter when scoping a partner-tier benefit. All three models have a place; they are built for different populations.
| Dimension | Typical EAP | Executive-tier platform | CEREVITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network model | Broker layer between employer 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 the 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 an upsell | Built around the presenting issues of partners |
| Modality fit | Generalist talk therapy | Generalist therapy with some specialty | CBT, DBT, psychodynamic, IFS, matched at intake |
| Reach | National via roster density | National telehealth, roster variance | All 50 states via telehealth |
| Payment model | Employer-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 metrics | Administrative reporting only |
| Right fit for | Workforce-wide acute support | Mid-tier ongoing care with an executive add-on | NYC litigation partners, end to end |
If you are running a formal evaluation, our notes on what to look for in a private therapy provider cover the procurement side in detail.
What the firm sees, and what it does not.
For a partner-tier channel to work, the partner has to trust that using it creates no visibility into their care, and no exposure to the firm or the bar. 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 partner's clinical content.
- Whether a specific named partner 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. Our notice of privacy practices and privacy policy are published in full.
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. Further context on why this matters to this population: private-pay therapy and confidentiality.
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, and whether one applies is a determination made with counsel rather than assumed. The partnership agreement defines the administrative reporting scope in writing before anything goes live. See also our terms of service.
Partners in particular ask about downstream exposure before they will engage at all. The question that comes up most is whether therapy shows up on a background check, and it is answered directly on our site.
What the first 30 days look like.
The hardest part of a partner-tier partnership is not the contract. It is the period between signature and the first partner 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, partner-tier comms template explaining the benefit, the privacy posture, and how to access intake. It is written to be received without stigma, which matters given why discretion is the deciding factor for CEOs in the first place.
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 firm.
Partner retention, sustained performance, and continuity of client relationships are the levers, and a partner who leaves takes a book with them.
Retention of partners
A departing partner takes clients, associates, and institutional knowledge, and lateral moves are often driven by strain that never got addressed. Confidential clinical care reaches the partners least likely to ask, and it is a concrete part of retaining high-value people.
Sustained performance
Judgment, focus, and composure degrade under chronic, unmanaged stress, and burnout's impact on productivity is measurable well before a partner steps back. Care that addresses the underlying pattern protects the work and the client relationships that ride on it.
Continuity and recruiting signal
Offering a partner-tier mental health benefit signals that the firm invests in its people at the top, which matters for lateral recruiting and is why some firms pair it with formal therapist referral programs.
Questions firm leaders ask first.
Does this replace our existing EAP?
No. CEREVITY sits above the EAP as a partner-tier benefit. The EAP continues to serve the broader staff at high volume, while CEREVITY provides confidential, matched clinical care for the partners whose continuity most affects the firm. The benefit is deliberately narrow so it stays partner-tier rather than becoming a second EAP.
How is confidentiality protected for our partners?
Care is private pay, so no insurance claim is filed and nothing routes through the firm health plan. There is no claim record for a benefits administrator, an insurer, or the firm to access, and nothing is reported to the bar. Sessions remain between the partner and the licensed clinician, who is bound by their own licensure confidentiality obligations. The firm sees only that the benefit exists and is used, never who used it or why.
Which partners are typically covered?
Scope is defined in the partnership agreement. Most firms cover their partners across practice groups, including transactional and specialty partners such as those we support in real estate practice, and some extend it to counsel. The scope stays partner-focused so it does not blur into a general EAP.
Is this the same as the counseling in our EAP?
No. EAP counseling is typically short-term and generic. CEREVITY is ongoing, matched clinical care with a clinician who understands the professional context, which is what makes it usable for people who would never touch a firm channel. Continuity with the same clinician is the point.
How quickly can a partner be matched?
Once the partnership is in place, an individual partner is matched by hand to an appropriate clinician, typically on a same-week basis depending on licensure footprint and modality fit. First sessions are usually scheduled within 5 to 10 business days of the match. Matching is reviewed by CEREVITY's clinical leadership rather than assigned algorithmically.
Does CEREVITY cover partners beyond New York?
Yes. Care is delivered by secure telehealth nationwide across all 50 states, so a single partnership can support partners wherever the firm has offices, and members can keep the same clinician if they relocate or split time between markets. Ongoing therapy for attorneys is available in every state.
What does it cost the firm?
Structure is agreed in the partnership conversation and depends on the number of partners covered and the scope of access. CEREVITY is a private-pay network with transparent fees, so there are no insurance-driven surprises in the accounting. Standard individual rates are published on our pricing page.
How do we begin?
Start a partnership conversation using the form on this page, by phone at (562) 295-6650, or through the contact page. A member of CEREVITY's clinical leadership will follow up directly and confidentially to scope a benefit that fits the firm.
Start a partnership conversation.
Tell us about your firm and the partners you want to cover. A member of CEREVITY's clinical leadership will follow up directly and confidentially.
Further reading and related partnerships.
Research, clinical writing, and the other legal verticals CEREVITY supports.
Research and data
For firm leaders
Clinical writing
A note on sources.
The figure that 19 percent of licensed lawyers reported experiencing anxiety is drawn from a landmark study by the American Bar Association and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, as reported by the ABA Journal, which surveyed nearly 13,000 licensed attorneys. The structural argument on this page is based on the firsthand experience of CEREVITY clinicians who work with the legal profession, combined with publicly available materials. Specific contractual scopes, including any Business Associate Agreement, are confirmed in writing in the partnership agreement before a partnership goes live. Additional CEREVITY research is collected in the knowledge base.
