Gallagher: Mounting pressures
The Solicitors Charity has reported rising demand for mental health services, emotional support as well as financial backing from practitioner in distress.
In 2024, the charity issued nearly £1.2m in grants to solicitors and retired solicitors, and their dependents, the highest since the Covid year of 2020 and increased the number of referrals it made for emotional support by 178%.
Nearly two-thirds of those it supported were women, the highest percentage in recent years, while 68% were living with a disability that impacted their daily life and work.
The charity funded LawCare to help 352 clients with mental wellbeing and made 59 referrals to online therapy specialists Onebright.
A further 11 referrals were made for the first time to psychotherapists Lawsight, set up by former commercial lawyer Claire Jacques and Satpal Kaur-Thompson, who was responsible for HR at a national law firm for 10 years.
According to its annual report, The Solicitors’ Charity, the operating name of the Solicitors Benevolent Association, saw “a significant rise in demand for emotional support” last year, “as more solicitors reached out to protect their mental health during times of stress, pressure, and personal challenge”.
The charity made a further eight referrals to other mental health providers, taking the total referred for emotional support, excluding LawCare, to 78.
Twice as many solicitors were referred to career coaches Renovo in 2024, though the total is still fairly small at 38.
The Solicitors Charity said that with “many mergers, acquisitions, and redundancies in the legal sector over the past year”, there had been “a significant increase” in requests for professional wellbeing support.
“Solicitors of all ages and at different stages of their working lives, were helped with career planning, CV preparation, interview technique, self-employment and retirement issues.”
Almost eight in 10 solicitors completed the full Renovo coaching programme and 80% said the support “enabled them to continue to thrive or improve in their professional life”.
Following a 60% increase in demand for financial wellbeing advice last year, the charity said it made 110 referrals for debt and money management advice.
“Financial pressures on solicitors continued to grow, driven by rising living costs, long-term health challenges, and economic uncertainty.”
Seventy clients were referred to its new financial wellbeing partner Pennysmart, which helped them write off £896,000 of debt in arrangements with creditors.
Chief executive Nick Gallagher said: “Solicitors continue to face mounting pressures and the surge in emotional support referrals shows just how deeply many solicitors are struggling…
“What we’re seeing more clearly than ever is a need for a more compassionate, collaborative, and connected profession, one that looks after its people as much as it does its clients.”
He said the charity would step up efforts to build stronger ties with law firms, support organisations, and sector leaders.
“We’re launching a new engagement programme designed to help firms better understand how they can play an active role in supporting people in the profession to ensure that no-one slips through the cracks.”
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