If you have ever found yourself asking this question, it turns out you are not alone.

Career concerns

LawCare’s latest figures published in their “Impact Report 2022” show that 22 per cent of those who contacted them last year were seeking support due to career concerns ranging from struggles with training to become a lawyer to wanting to retire early, as well as not seeing law as a lifelong career.

With the tough current economic climate and talks of a possible recession, LawCare anticipates that the number of calls regarding career concerns is only likely to grow this year. But in 2021, the figure was just over 8 per cent, so what has prompted this sharp increase?

LawCare’s Chief Executive, Elizabeth Rimmer considers that “the willingness to question 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 do not meet their needs and expectations and could be undermining their mental health”.

Mental health and wellbeing

In fact, mental health concerns are still one of the top reasons for calls to the legal charity’s helpline and include stress (22 per cent), anxiety (12 per cent) and depression (8 per cent).

These continue to be issues particularly affecting young and junior lawyers, with 60 per cent of those who contacted LawCare being less than five years qualified and one-third under the age of 30.

The pandemic brought challenges to us all. Some junior lawyers found that a consequence of remote working meant they were not receiving effective supervision, which is especially important for lawyers in the early stages of their careers. When restrictions eased, many firms adopted a hybrid return to the office and recognising this as the new norm, The Law Society introduced guidance for the good practice of remote supervision of junior staff and trainee solicitors. However, LawCare’s recent report shows that a lack of supervision continues for some to be a problem post pandemic, with 7.5 per cent of callers reporting that they were experiencing this.

Realm Recruit recently published their “Wellbeing in the Law 2023 Report”, following a survey carried out in June 2022. Their figures show that 62 per cent of the lawyers surveyed had experienced burnout in the last 12 months, with a further 21 per cent reporting often feeling stressed, with unmanageable caseloads being cited as the top source of stress. Other reasons included lack of a work-life balance (42 per cent), bad management (39 per cent) and poor or unfair pay (31.8 per cent).

The future

Mental health and wellbeing is certainly higher on the agendas of law firms and organisations than ever before. Many have taken action to improve their employees’ mental health and wellbeing, introducing initiatives, such as regular catch-ups or appraisals, mental health policies, mental health first aiders, gym memberships and free or subsidised access to counsellors.

However, some still adopt an approach that you should “just get on with it” or that the stress of working in the law is a given that must be accepted. Such notions are unhelpful and simply create a toxic working environment. Without those at the top leading the way in adopting better practices, meaningful and long-lasting change cannot, and will not, happen.

The recent reports by LawCare and Realm Recruit highlight that there is still a great deal of work to be done within the profession to improve lawyers’ mental health and wellbeing and employers need to listen to staff and support them with their career concerns. Otherwise, the profession is at risk of not only retaining talented lawyers but attracting them in the first place.

Elizabeth Russell is an executive committee member of the Junior Lawyers Division