Rimmer: Now is the time for leaders to act with courage
Six in 10 people working in the law have poor mental wellbeing, while a fifth feel they have been bullied, harassed or discriminated against in the past year, according to major new research.
With nearly 30% saying they could see themselves leaving their current role within the next year, the charity LawCare said “decisive action” was needed across the sector.
Without it, “the profession risks losing people, further erosion of mental health and wellbeing and reduced public trust and confidence”.
Four years after its first Life in the Law report [1] was published, LawCare has repeated the exercise, surveying 1,541 people working in the law, as well as 82 organisations for the 2025 version [2].
Some 59% of people reported poor mental wellbeing, while 43% said that their mental health and wellbeing was very significantly influenced by work.
Respondents were at high risk of burnout, while half had experienced anxiety – either often, very often or all of the time – over the last 12 months. More than a quarter (26%) had experienced depression.
While a majority (56%) said they could see themselves leaving their current workplace within the next five years (29% in the next year), nearly a third (32%) could see themselves leaving the legal sector altogether in that time (11% in the next year).
A third were also ‘not likely’ to recommend law as a career, citing the levels of work intensity and pressure, the stressful working environment, high expectations of employers, clients and regulators and a lack of work-life balance as reasons.
The 27% likely or very likely to recommend law as a career focused on “the enjoyable, stimulating, interesting and emotionally and financially rewarding aspects of their work”.
The research suggested that long hours might, at least in part, be behind poor mental wellbeing: nearly 80% said they regularly worked beyond their contracted hours, with one in 12 saying they worked more than 21 extra hours per week.
A fifth of people said they felt they had been bullied, harassed, or discriminated against at work in the preceding 12 months.
Line managers/supervisors were the main perpetrators (cited by 65%), followed by peers (34%), clients (16%), others (13%) and the judiciary (8%). Sex, age and disability were the most common protected characteristics that were targeted.
Some 72% of this group said the behaviour had not been adequately dealt with, despite 82% of organisations saying that had policy and procedures in place in the event of bullying, harassment or discrimination.
Fewer than half of organisations (48%) had a policy or procedure in the event staff disclosed mental ill health, and while 40% of those who had experienced mental ill-health had disclosed it to a supervisor or the HR department – and 37% told their peers – 24% did not tell anyone.
The research showed that only a minority of organisations offered training to staff who managed others, even though almost all individuals responding thought it should be mandatory.
Only 31% of those with management responsibilities said their targets or billable hours were adjusted to take into account the time they need to spend on management, while 44% said it was included as a performance measurement.
The majority (55%) of people surveyed said their workplace had implemented helpful mental health and wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programmes.
The vast majority of organisations (88%) said the mental health and wellbeing of staff was a priority issue for them.
LawCare issued five recommendations to firms: actively manage workloads – by “rethinking targets and incentives and challenging the culture of long hours” – prioritising and valuing managing people, embedding hybrid and flexible working options, evaluating programmes and activities that support mental health and wellbeing at work, and ensuring legal education and training “equip people joining the sector with the skills and knowledge they need for a sustainable legal career”.
“The case has been made; we don’t need more evidence. It is time to move on from discussing the problems to implementing evidence-based sustainable solutions,” the report said.
“The priority now is strong leadership and decisive action to seize the opportunity to embed mental health and wellbeing into everyday legal practice.”
LawCare chief executive Elizabeth Rimmer said: “We have it in our hands to transform the way we work and build a future where people are supported to perform at their best and build sustainable careers.
“The path to prioritising mental health and wellbeing before us is clear. Now is the time for leaders to act with courage: move away from practices that normalise overwork, which risk driving people out of the sector, and take the path to a better future by valuing people management.”
Baroness Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, added: “The recommendations present a clear opportunity for leaders across the profession to engage strategically with wellbeing, as a core part of building healthier, more forward-thinking workplaces…
“Prioritising mental health is essential if we are to build a sector that is inclusive, resilient and fit for the future. Those in senior positions across legal education, regulation and practice can commit to actions to make meaningful change.
“The findings in this research challenge us to lead with empathy, to listen and to act with purpose. Our collective future depends on both innovation in how we deliver legal services and how we support the people who deliver them.”