Denis-Smith: We need to see change in the underlying architecture of the law
Exactly half of female legal professionals believe their working patterns are not “sustainable for their health in the long term”, a large-scale study has found.
Meanwhile, just over two-thirds said they had considered moving jobs or taking a career break due to health and wellbeing issues.
Researchers said their most fundamental recommendation was to treat wellbeing “as a structural issue”.
A large majority of women (85%) had experienced health and wellbeing issues that have affected their work in the past five years.
The Next 100 Years project, which aims to achieve equality for women in law, was supported in the research by mental health charity LawCare, City law firm RPC and health and wellbeing specialist Goodbody Wellness.
Some 43% of respondents did not feel they could openly discuss health and wellbeing concerns at work without negative consequences.
The report, Pressure Points: Mapping Women’s Wellbeing in Law, was based on responses from over 530 female legal professionals, ranging from solicitors, barristers and chartered legal executives to trainees, paralegals and support staff.
Calling on law firms to reform billable hours models, researchers said: “The dominance of billable hours targets as a driver of poor health requires direct action.
“Firms should review whether current models and targets are compatible with sustainable working. Alternative approaches, including fixed-fee and value-based billing, should be assessed as part of a broader strategy for sustainable practice.
“The profitability of overwork is a short-term calculation with long-term costs.”
Only 47% said their organisations had a menopause policy and the report recommended that firms implement and enforce menopause, fertility, and pregnancy loss policies.
They should also introduce structured support for maternity returners, including phased return arrangements, a named buddy or mentor, and protected time for reintegration.
Dana Denis-Smith, founder of the Next 100 Years and CEO of Obelisk Support, as well as deputy vice-president of the Law Society, said: “These stark findings demonstrate the scale of the health and wellbeing issues women face and reflects the quiet, accumulated cost of years working in conditions that damage health, with insufficient support from employers.
“Many firms are taking health and wellbeing seriously but good intentions and wellness programmes are not enough.
“We need to see change in the underlying architecture – the hours, the billing model, the cultural expectations and the absence of targeted support.”
Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO of LawCare, commented: “This report is a worrying reminder of the impact workplace pressures can have on women’s mental health in the legal sector.
“Stress, burnout and exhaustion shouldn’t just be accepted as part of the job, and it’s concerning to see how many women are thinking about stepping away from the profession.”
Rachel Pears, associate director and responsible business and employment counsel at RPC, said: “When talented professionals start to question whether their career is compatible with good health, that is a collective problem that requires a collective response.
“We must create clear and trusted routes to support, equipping leaders to respond with compassion and confidence while building more sustainable ways of working.”
Ann-Marie Goodbody, performance and health coach, added: “Elite athletes have recovery protocols, sleep strategies, and nutritional support precisely because sustained output without structured recovery leads to breakdown.
“Until recovery becomes a structural norm in legal working life, rather than a personal indulgence squeezed into the margins, this cycle will not change, and the profession will keep losing the very women it cannot afford to lose.”
Although as a man I am perhaps beyond the intended reach of this article as a cancer patient I can readily attest to the prevailing (and largely unchanged) attitude within the profession that sees its staff as machinery (broken and to be discarded, or working and to be worked to its limits) and sickness as a career stopper. To be fair I am trying hard not to feel a little aggrieved that sickness and wellbeing is only being seriously considered because women are now experiencing what we men have had to put up with for decades, but that does not and should not dull the edge of what is an inciteful and sadly very relevant article.