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Make Wellbeing Part of Your Firm’s DNA

It’s disheartening but perhaps not so surprising; legal professionals are at a high risk of burnout...

Lawyers who work in junior positions, have disabilities, are Asian or Black, or are women with care responsibilities are most likely to feel the strain.

These are just some of the findings of the Life in the Law research study by LawCare, the legal mental health charity. The research, which includes responses from 1,700 legal professionals in the UK, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, set out to assess mental health and wellbeing in the profession.

“The research provides robust evidence that the legal profession is stressed, tired, anxious, and at high risk of burnout. It highlighted that the working practices in law that undermine mental health need to change,” said LawCare CEO Elizabeth Rimmer. “We want this research to be the catalyst for us to come together as a profession to create that change, to create a culture in law that puts the law’s greatest asset – its people – first.”

Sharon Glynn, Senior Development Underwriter at Travelers Europe, recently interviewed Rimmer, along with John Cleland, Managing Partner at Pinsent Masons, a founding company of the Mindful Business Charter. She asked both about how firms can best translate the study’s findings into actions that promote wellbeing in the legal profession and minimise the risks associated with poor mental health.

“Every person in a law firm is a risk manager,” Glynn commented. “Employees, employers, clients and regulators all have a responsibility to protect wellbeing – and that sort of collective action is what is needed now to ensure the long-term health and success of the profession.”

Building a better model 

Cleland sees mental wellbeing as an issue that should have board-level commitment within a firm – and aims to talk about it openly whenever he has an opportunity to speak in front of a group. By acknowledging mental health struggles, he hopes to take the stigma out of the topic and allow legal professionals the space to discuss their wellbeing. This has the added benefit of helping employees to avoid making mistakes related to wellbeing that can in turn escalate risks for the firm.

“If people aren’t feeling their best, they aren’t able to perform at their best,” he said. “That can lead to errors. Employees need to feel confident they can have conversations about their mental wellbeing in an environment where they won’t be judged.”

Since clients are impacted by employee performance, they, too, are beginning to voice their concern about mental health in the legal profession –giving senior partners an additional incentive to support it.

“Some clients are becoming more thoughtful and concerned about this, asking ‘Is it in our best interest for our lawyers to be working long hours, late at night?’” Cleland said. “They want to know to what extent we are looking after our colleagues. I welcome this because if law firms aren’t able to or are reticent to address these concerns themselves, clients will be key to changing the culture.”

To help firms weave a commitment to wellbeing into their cultural fabric, Rimmer advises senior lawyers to make conversations about mental health part of daily life within a firm – not just something relegated to International Mental Health Day. That means being open about everyone’s need for mental health support and providing safe spaces in which employees can speak about their challenges.

Pinsent Masons, for example, has designated around 200 mental health champions in middle management roles across the business who can triage with employees who need support. “They have the skills to have conversations with the people coming to them and they do a lot more listening than talking,” Cleland said.

Rimmer advises firms to listen to the people in their organisation, avoid making assumptions about their concerns, and then take actions in response to their feedback – whether they like employees’ responses or not.

“That came through in the qualitative part of our research,” she said. “If people raise an issue but feel nothing will be done, they feel there isn’t a point in saying it.”

To be more responsive to employee concerns, firms can better equip managers to support mental health on their teams. According to Rimmer, less than half of those in management or supervisory roles were given training in how to support mental health.

Improving mental health support on a team may be as simple as having regular catch-up meetings with individual team members, which can help managers build stronger connections with employees and better detect problems when they arise. Firms that proactively create opportunities for greater connection, and are open and understanding about mental wellbeing, are better positioned to support not only junior lawyers who may hesitate to speak up when they make a mistake, but also partners who feel they must present an aura of infallibility.

“There are a few important lessons – three C’s – firms can take from this research,” Glynn said. Firstly, good communication is key. Firms need to communicate effectively with their employees, who in turn need to feel able to speak up if they have a problem. Combined, this will create a safe environment that encourages the sharing of wellbeing concerns. Secondly, they need a culture of openness and support that runs through every level of the organisation. Finally, they need to be consistent, baking these supportive behaviours into the daily work of the firm until they become part of its DNA.”

Listen to Sharon Glynn’s podcast interview with Elizabeth Rimmer and John Cleland: Travelers Talks: Making Wellbeing Part of Your Firm’s DNA. If you or someone in your family works in the legal profession and needs a safe space to talk about mental health concerns, call LawCare’s emotional support helpline at 0800 279 6888.

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