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30 January 2023Influential Women in IPLiz Hockley

Junior lawyers affected by mental health and career woes

Study reveals jump in number of lawyers with career concerns | Charity anticipates that the tough economic climate will take its toll in 2023.

Junior legal professionals are still lacking workplace support for their mental health concerns, leading many to seek outside help, according to a survey by charity LawCare.

The mental wellbeing charity for the legal profession released its latest  Impact Report today, January 30.

The figures show that last year, 60% of people who got in touch with LawCare for support were at the start of their careers, being either trainees or lawyers who had been qualified for less than five years.

This was similar to the numbers reported in the charity's 2021 survey, prompting LawCare to suggest "that junior lawyers are still not getting the emotional support they need at work".

Career concerns

LawCare’s 2022 report also revealed a significant leap in the number of legal professionals with career concerns—22% in 2022, up from 8% in 2021.

For the first time, the number of legal professionals seeking help due to career concerns equaled the number of those getting in touch because of stress, which also stood at 22%.

Elizabeth Rimmer, chief executive of LawCare, attributed this partly to the impact of the pandemic.

“This willingness to question their life in the law may be partly a response to the pandemic: legal professionals could be reflecting on what they want from life and work and be less willing to stay in careers or workplaces that don’t meet their needs and expectations and could be undermining their mental health,” she said.

Rimmer said the career concerns they were hearing covered everything from struggles with training to wanting to retire early, and that some people were telling them they didn’t see law as a lifelong career.

“We anticipate that in 2023 the number of people contacting us with career concerns may grow as the tough economic climate takes its toll,” she added.

The report also showed a 3% increase in contact from men in 2022, which the charity says reflects its work in encouraging male lawyers to reach out for support for their mental health.

LawCare supports all members of the legal profession from student to retirement, offering advice and resources to those working in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

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