In a survey of just over 1,700 lawyers last year, LawCare — an organisation that provides mental health support to the legal profession — found that 69 per cent of legal professionals had experienced ill health, either clinically or self-diagnosed, in the 12 months to January 2021, including depression, low mood and anxiety.

The same study revealed that only 57 per cent felt comfortable speaking about their mental health issues at work. Reasons that they gave for not disclosing their poor mental health at work included the fear of stigma that would attach, resulting career implications, and financial and reputational consequences.

There is nothing OK with this picture.

Lawyers should be able to speak openly about their mental health at work every day of the year — not just when World Mental Health Day, R U OK? Day, or Mental Health Month rolls around — as long hours, billing targets, tight deadlines, stress, presenteeism, bullying, rigid hierarchies, and inflexible work practices can have a snowballing effect and inevitably lead to burnout and a deterioration in mental health.

The mental health facade

Many law firms would argue that they already take a robust approach to mental health and wellbeing.

They have a policy on mental health — which depending on who you ask — is a band-aid over the problem as traditional legal working practices such as having each moment of your day accounted for and working in a high-pressure environment creates a perfect breeding ground for mental health issues.

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They advertise what they are doing to support mental health and encourage a work/life balance in promotional material to get more staff and clients through the door.

They host events for mental health days, where they invite inspirational speakers to come and share their wellness insights.

They send their professional staff along to mental health awareness and compulsory legal education programs.

Some even offer their employees wellness advisers, confidential mental health telephone services, counselling, gym memberships, healthy food in their kitchens, trips away and the opportunity to work remotely.

These initiatives are all well and good, until a client comes along and demands something.

Then, all the pretence and policies about caring about mental health go out the window, and good performance is conditional on an individual’s willingness to pull ridiculous hours and not ask for help when they are clearly struggling.

Partners know that if they do not fulfil client demands, another firm will. And, without a constant stream of work, they will take home less money and not be able to pay the staff they attest to protect.

But, by prioritising profit over the mental health of those who make up our profession, lawyers earn society’s deep-set anathema towards them and deserve to be at the butt end of so many bad jokes.

After all, how can our profession be respected when some leaders are willing to sacrifice those who report to them for money, and the rest of us turn a blind eye?

Will it take a tragedy to strike before our profession makes a change? I sincerely hope not.

So, how can workplaces better support their lawyers mentally? Firms should consider:

1. Bringing more substance to their mental health policies;
2. Encouraging senior leaders to speak about their mental health and show employees what healthy behaviours look like, honestly and openly;
3. Actively offering a work/life balance and a tailored approach to stressors that arise;
4. Public assurances from senior leaders that any declarations about a person’s mental health will not have career implications and reputational consequences throughout the firm;
5. Appointing a mental health manager;
6. Undertaking independent cultural reviews of workplace culture and anonymous surveys;
7. Implementing internal and external anonymous complaints systems and developing policies and procedures that set the standard of workplace behaviour; and
8. Reviewing policies and practices for managing workloads.