As the legal profession grapples with a quiet but alarming mental health crisis, with nearly all lawyers experiencing a decline in wellbeing at some point in their careers, Tammi McDermott stressed that mental health literacy is no longer a luxury – it’s a necessity for young lawyers.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, Tammi McDermott, founder of Lawnch and a board member of the mental health charity LIVIN, stressed that mental health literacy has become an essential skill for young lawyers as the pressures of a legal career continue to take a devastating toll on wellbeing.
McDermott candidly revealed the immense mental strain the profession’s prestige and intellectual rigour can impose, noting that nearly all lawyers will experience a decline in mental health at some point in their careers.
“I’m so passionate about mental health awareness. Ninety-seven per cent of all lawyers will have a mental health decline at some stage in their career,” she said.
Reflecting on nearly two decades in the legal profession, McDermott warned of a glaring gap in mental health support for legal teams, stressing that despite the growing pressures of the industry, the profession has yet to take meaningful action to address this urgent issue.
“I’ve been a lawyer for 19 years. There is a resource gap in law. It’s huge, and I think that the profession needs to shift, it needs to change, and it hasn’t caught up yet, in my experience,” she said.
This lack of resources has, McDermott warned, left lawyers to navigate high-pressure environments on their own, with many working long hours and sacrificing both family time and personal wellbeing.
“Because there’s a lack of resources, the ones that are left in the profession are working around the clock. It’s costing them their family time, it’s costing them their mental health time,” she said.
“We’re in a real pickle in the profession, I have to say. It’s really concerning me.”
McDermott urged that for young lawyers, developing mental health literacy is about far more than self-care, emphasising that it has become a fundamental prerequisite for building a stable and sustainable legal career.
“If you don’t prioritise mental wellbeing and if you aren’t emotionally prepared to take on the profession, you won’t have a career,” she said.
“Now, I know how expensive it is to do a law degree. I know the impact and what it takes to complete one and to complete your admission process. Why are we doing it if we’re not creating sustainability in the profession and in the career?”
While recognising the privileges and rewards of a legal career and the profound impact lawyers can have, McDermott stressed that even the most driven individuals risk burnout or leaving the profession prematurely if they are not properly prepared.
“There are a lot of benefits to being a lawyer. I absolutely love the profession. I love the privilege of being able to help clients and walk with them on that journey,” she said.
“But if you don’t prepare yourself to have mental health literacy and if you aren’t emotionally prepared in your career, then you won’t have career sustainability, which means that you won’t be successful.
“People don’t do law degrees because they’re not driven. If you’re a driven individual, you need to be able to recognise that you need to be mentally prepared for the profession.”
Amid a profession where mental health challenges remain all too common, McDermott warned that without some form of mental health preparedness, young lawyers who are not mentally and emotionally ready for the demands of a legal career will struggle to survive.
“Undertaking some form of mental health preparedness is essential. Because if you aren’t mentally and emotionally ready to face a legal career, you will struggle to survive,” she said.
