Burnout in the profession

A recent poll conducted by Lawyers Weekly confirmed that lawyers are “very exhausted”. This is a notion that a number of legal recruiters and legal professionals have agreed with; in July last year, Travis Schultz & Partners associate James Leggo said that “modern Australian work culture is not something to be envied” and that he has already seen many practitioners leave the legal sphere entirely, in search of greater work/life balance. Burnout was also revealed to be of top concern to in-house legal teams, too.

And while burnout is an issue the legal profession is all too familiar with, this can also spread to jobseekers, as searching for a new job, or a graduate role, can be especially exhausting.

This is something founder and director of Coaching Advocates Katie Gray said could be exacerbated by already working a high-demand job.

“In many cases, burnout is caused by poor leadership, lack of a supportive community and ineffective systems. When researching potential workplaces, job seekers should look for burnout protective factors, such as a culture of respect and psychological safety, flexible work arrangements, policies for taking time off to recharge, and access to coaching, mentorship and advancement opportunities,” she said.

“Research by Gallup has shown that the risk of burnout increases significantly when employees exceed an average of 50 hours per week, and it escalates even more at 60 hours per week. Therefore, jobseekers who are spending an unsustainable number of hours per week on their job search may also be at risk of burnout, especially if they are experiencing exhaustion, negative feelings and reduced professional efficacy.”

According to a recent post on Get Hired by LinkedIn News Australia, jobseekers can combat job search burnout by reassessing their goals and carving out personal time for themselves to stop their job search from taking over their lives — as well as connecting with their “why”.

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Young lawyers searching for flexibility, increased work/life balance

Post-pandemic, the values of younger lawyers are changing — and many are no longer looking for a career-long commitment.

Instead, Burgess Paluch director Doron Paluch said, they are looking for a more sustainable working life.

“I think burnout in young lawyers is a serious issue, but it is not quite as common as it used to be. Junior lawyers at the major firms do have to work hard, but they seem to be more aware of the need to maintain some level of work/life balance,” he explained.

“And more firms seem to be able to provide it. Law firms and companies clearly have a long way to go in ensuring that balance, but I think most are at least making efforts in the right direction. Post-COVID, most firms are still allowing lawyers to work from home at least two days per week.

“Junior lawyers also seem to be less prepared to accept environments that are inflexible and unreasonably demanding. And junior lawyers often have options that they are prepared to explore at other law firms or companies.”

Many law firm leaders have emphasised the importance of flexibility, particularly for working parents, as well as why mastering hybrid working will be key moving forward, especially in a candidate-driven market.

Shine Lawyers unveiled a new nine-day fortnight option for staff in August last year, following the news that Coutts Lawyers & Conveyancers had done the same. 

And despite the fact that multiple partners have expressed concerns regarding missed mentoring and learning opportunities in the face of flexible working, many BigLaw firms, including MinterEllison, Clayton Utz and Mills Oakley, are not — and will not — mandate in-office work moving forward.   

This, in turn, contributes to a better work/life balance and combats poor mental health within the profession — something which is prevalent in young lawyers.

In December last year, researchers from Ulster University and the Atlantic Technological University (both located in Ireland) published a paper, Variations in psychological disorders, suicidality, and help-seeking behaviour among college students from different academic disciplines.

As reported by Lawyers Weekly, the research found that law students have the highest rates of alcohol misuse among the students surveyed — and more than one in four (25.8 per cent) law students surveyed reported having suicide ideation over a 12-month period, compared to the campus-wide average of 17.2 per cent.

Furthermore, 14.9 per cent of law students reported a suicide plan (in contrast to 7.4 per cent of all students), and 3.9 per cent of law students had made a suicide attempt in the period, compared to 1.9 of all students.

Ms Gray echoed this sentiment — and said that workplace culture within firms needs work.

“We’ve heard from several junior lawyers who feel exhausted and undervalued. These lawyers entered the profession during a period of great uncertainty and change, with ballooning client demands and the need to work around the clock to help ease their clients’ concerns in volatile economic conditions.

“Some juniors have reported that the increased uptake of flexible working by senior lawyers has left them feeling unsupported, with little guidance or direction. Others feel forgotten altogether,” she added.

“To combat burnout, it’s essential to understand that burnout is a workplace phenomenon and not something an employee can tackle alone. The best way to minimise the risk of burnout is to assess whether a workplace has the culture and systems in place to prevent it.”