Suzula Bidon, Atty.

Suzula Bidon is an attorney, advocate, and educator dedicated to policy reform that recognizes addiction as a public health issue best addressed with treatment – not punishment. In long-term recovery from addiction and depression herself, Bidon is also the creator of Recovery Yoga Meetings™, a yoga curriculum designed to support those seeking recovery.Bidon struggled with addiction and depression for 18 years. After experimenting with alcohol and marijuana as a teenager, she moved to New York to study at Barnard College, and discovered harder drugs. She got addicted to heroin and withdrew from school. Two years later, while in a methadone treatment program, she returned to Barnard and graduated with a degree in theater.After college, Bidon struggled to maintain sobriety, and she eventually relapsed on meth. She started dealing meth to support her habit, and in 2005, a friend asked her to send some of the drug to him in New York. It was a setup, and Bidon was federally indicted for a conspiracy drug charge.Bidon spent 27 months in federal prison, and the experience inspired her to become a lawyer. She graduated magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law, and was admitted to the Minnesota bar. She practiced criminal defense, then served as the Interim Executive Director of Minnesota Recovery Connection, Minnesota’s first and largest Recovery Community Organization. Bidon worked closely with the Minnesota Department of Human Services to reform Minnesota’s Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Policy.Currently, Bidon runs her own law firm, Bidon Law PLLC, specializing in expungements and policy consulting. Bidon also leads weekly Recovery Yoga Meetings™ in yoga centers and treatment facilities throughout Minnesota, and trains and certifies yoga teachers to lead Recovery Yoga Meetings™ throughout the country.Driven by her own experience with addiction, recovery, and the criminal justice system, Bidon is committed to eradicating discrimination and the collateral consequences that prevent people with the disease of addiction from maintaining lives in recovery. She speaks regularly about her personal experience, and addiction law and policy, in a variety of forums. She has testified at the legislature about sentencing guideline reform, she presents Continuing Legal Education seminars for legal professionals, she speaks in treatment centers, and at events around the country. She has been featured in The Huffington Post, Star Tribune, and Forbes.com. Her article, “A New Call to Action: Lawyers and Addiction” was published in the Jan/Feb 2017 issue of The Hennepin Lawyer.Bidon volunteers her time for public service as well. She is a member of Minnesota’s Lawyers Assistance Program, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers (LCL), where she sits on the Cases and Interventions Committee. Bidon is also the Chair of the Ramsey County Citizen’s Advisory Council Chemical Health Committee.