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How law grads can preserve their mental health
Finally making it into the profession can be a daunting enough experience, but how should law graduates manage the stress while coping with the pressures of a COVID-19 world?
Naomi Neilson
The global health pandemic and the subsequent economic panic have firms and their staff on high alert and it’s only natural that new working practices, job reductions and potential future cuts will impact the mental health and wellbeing of a newly minted lawyer.
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Prior to the pandemic, a 2019 survey from the UK found that 93 per cent of students and young law professionals were stressed, and about half experienced mental health issues. A separate study found 40 per cent of law students were living with depression.
This is likely to climb higher, so how should a law graduate stay on top of their health and wellbeing? According to GradAustralia’s careers commentator James Davis, it starts with being transparent with your employer: “It’s not weak to admit you’re having a hard time.”
“Everyone knows it’s tough. Firms have come a long way in the past 50 years in terms of empathy, even in places where junior lawyers are sleeping in the office,” Mr Davis wrote, adding graduates “won’t be shunned for asking for help” from their workplace.
“A good employer ought to recognise when a junior lawyer has self-identified a concern and [wants] to improve. That’s not a weakness,” he said.
In the limited time that graduate lawyers do have an off day, it is important to switch off and look into a hobby. Mr Davis said it could be as small as using two hours on a weekend to play a sport or musical instrument or any activity that cannot be used in the workplace.
Ultimately, it is important that law graduates take the time to care for themselves, and not to turn to abusive substances as a form of coping. According to GradAustralia, one in five Australian lawyers reported a self-described “problematic” abuse of drugs, with almost all starting with this habit right after their first year of law school.
“If you’re coping with mental health issues (or any health issues for that matter), it’s better to see a professional rather than a ‘street pharmacist’. Even prescribed medications can be addictive and are a common cause of addition among practicing lawyers,” Mr Davis said.
