Putting wellbeing first

The legal profession is associated with heavy workloads, long hours, pressure to reach targets and the challenges of meeting client demand. It is well established that this working environment can take its toll on mental health. For law firm managers, balancing getting the work done with staff wellbeing presents a unique challenge.

This article examines why prioritising mental health should be a management priority, the practical challenges faced in implementation, actionable solutions, the importance of management self-care and resources to support your firm.

Why staff mental health is a priority

There is a widely accepted (and growing) body of evidence in both the UK and other jurisdictions that suggests there are significant mental health concerns in the legal sector. LawCare’s Life in the Law 2020/21 report found that:

• 69% of respondents had experienced poor mental health in the year leading up to the study.
• Just over one in five respondents had experienced bullying and harassment.
• Respondents had an average score of 42.2 on the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, which puts them in the range of being at significant risk of burnout.

Meanwhile, our Impact Report 2024 showed the busiest year to date on LawCare’s support channels, with stress and anxiety being the most common reasons people were turning to us for support.

The mental health of the people in your firm directly impacts its bottom line in several quantifiable ways:

1. Financial costs: The cost to UK employers of poor mental health is £51bn annually, according to Deloitte’s 2024 Mental health and employers report. Interestingly, presenteeism is the largest contributor, where people work despite illness and are therefore not able to perform at their best, costing employers £24bn annually. For law firms, this translates to both direct costs, such as sick pay and temporary staff cover, and indirect costs, such as reduced productivity and inability to meet client demand.
2. Talent retention: We have seen an increase in those using our support services reporting that they are considering leaving the legal sector due to wellbeing concerns. In a competitive market for legal talent, maintaining a reputation as a firm that cares for its staff is crucial.
3. Productivity impact: Legal professionals’ concentration, decision-making ability and quality of work are likely to be impacted by poor mental health.
4. Risk management: Poor mental health increases the likelihood of mistakes, poor ethical decisions and regulatory breaches – creating both reputational and financial risks for your firm.
5. Evolving expectations: Increasingly, legal professionals – particularly those from younger generations – are expecting employers to acknowledge and address mental health. This cultural shift means that those who fail to adapt may find themselves struggling to attract and retain talent, meet the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) expectations and compete with firms that have established wellbeing programmes. Insurers and regulators are also focusing more on how people are managed in law firms and the risks associated with this.

Addressing mental health in your firm isn’t just a moral imperative, then – it’s a strategic business necessity, with implications for recruitment, retention, productivity and, ultimately, your firm’s reputation and success.

Challenges of addressing mental health within law firms

Billable hours

Perhaps the most fundamental challenge facing law firm managers is the inherent tension between traditional billing structures and staff wellbeing. The billable hour model drives lawyers to work excessive hours to meet targets and justify their time, which leads to behaviours that can have a negative impact on mental health, such as:

• incentivising longer hours over efficiency
• creating competition among colleagues
• discouraging time spent on non-billable activities, including effective management and supervision.

This can create working environments where firms outwardly express support for staff wellbeing while simultaneously maintaining targets and expectations that undermine it. This can in turn lead to low staff morale, reduced job satisfaction and a lack of engagement with initiatives to support wellbeing.

Limited resources

Many firms face practical resource constraints when it comes to mental health support. There may be no / limited budget for wellbeing initiatives and a lack of staff to manage them. There may be minimal HR expertise in how to provide support or facilitate conversations about mental health. Furthermore, those with management responsibilities are unlikely to have had any formal training in this area, with Life in the Law 2020/21 finding that less than 50% of managers had received any leadership or management training.

Stigma

Legal professionals are often reluctant to disclose mental health concerns for fear of being judged and worries about how this will impact their career progression. In a pervasive culture that promotes ‘getting on with it’, many struggle in silence.

Client expectations

Client expectations usually centre around immediate responsiveness, creating pressure for constant availability. In the current economic climate, there is also a greater pressure on costs – that sense of being ‘squeezed to do more with less’. In an era where technology has eroded traditional work–life boundaries, competitive pressures can make keeping those boundaries difficult.

Practical solutions for law firms

Creating sustainable change requires addressing the systems, policies and practices that shape your firm’s culture. Here are some practical steps you can take:

Review billing models

Consider alternatives to ‘pure’ billable-hour targets, such as:

• outcome-based pricing for appropriate matters
• inclusion of wellbeing activities in billable targets
• recognition of efficiency over hours worked
• team-based, rather than individual, targets
• reduction in billing targets for those with people management responsibilities.

Implement clear work–life boundaries

Establish firm-wide policies on emails outside core working hours, realistic response-time expectations, holiday communication protocols and meeting-free periods.

Offer flexible working

Flexible working, whether through remote work, adjusted hours or hybrid models, can have a positive impact on mental health and overall wellbeing. Move beyond ad-hoc arrangements or rigid mandates by:

• having clear criteria for flexible working, which apply equally to everyone
• providing the right technology for remote work
• holding regular reviews of effectiveness
• ensuring regular check-ins for remote / hybrid workers
• making sure junior staff have effective supervision. 

Train managers

Invest in ensuring that all those with responsibility for managing others have had management training and are provided with the time and support they need to manage others effectively. Additionally, ensure that all managers can recognise the signs of poor mental health, understand the firm’s support systems and feel confident in managing wellbeing conversations.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s Health and wellbeing at work 2022 report highlights the impact of management style on wellbeing. In the legal sector, those with management responsibilities are usually promoted to these positions because of their technical knowledge and abilities, rather than their people management and leadership skills. When this is combined with a lack of training, it’s a recipe for poor workplace wellbeing.

Adopt a preventative approach

A risk-based preventative approach focuses on identifying, assessing and mitigating risks to mental health, rather than just reacting to problems when they arise. Identify workplace mental health risks and incorporate these into your risk register. Monitor these risks by assessing data like billable hours, utilisation rates, staff turnover, exit interview trends, sick leave, HR complaints, claims or employee engagement surveys. Use data to inform decision-making about targeted interventions and measure the impact they have.

Lead by example

1. Model healthy behaviour – take your full holiday entitlement, share your own wellbeing practices, respect others’ boundaries and be open to talking about mental health when appropriate.
2. Foster a psychologically safe work environment where mistakes are treated as learning opportunities, staff feel able to both raise concerns and make suggestions, feedback is encouraged in both directions and conversations about mental health are normalised.
3. Organise regular one-to-one check-ins focused on wellbeing and initiate team discussions about workload management. Communicate the steps being taken to support wellbeing and seek and respond to feedback on their effectiveness.
4. Recognise the need for targeted support during particularly busy or stressful periods, such as the end of the financial year, major case completions or an investigation by the SRA. Consider the needs of those that are working in particularly challenging practice areas such as family, criminal or immigration, where the emotional impact of their work may require some additional mental health support.
5. Use workload management tools to provide visibility on team capacity, ensure the equitable distribution of work, and track individual overtime and workload.

Self-care for managers

As a manager, your mental health not only affects your own performance but also has a significant impact on others. Here are some practical steps you can take to support your mental health:

• Create and maintain boundaries between work and personal time, urgent and important matters, your responsibilities and those you can delegate and client and firm expectations.
• Build a support network with peers in other firms facing similar challenges.
• Recognise the warning signs of poor mental health, such as:
  • changes in sleep patterns
  • increased irritability or impatience
  • difficulty making decisions or progressing work
  • reduced enjoyment of previously pleasurable activities.
• Be open about the challenges you face, strategies you use to support your wellbeing, boundaries you have set and the importance of seeking support when needed.

Conclusion

People are the greatest asset in every law firm. Addressing the mental health of your staff is both a management responsibility and an organisational priority. By acknowledging the challenges, implementing practical solutions and prioritising both staff wellbeing and your own, you can create a more sustainable, productive and ultimately more successful legal practice. In doing so, you position your firm not only as a supportive employer and a great place to work, but as a forward-thinking organisation prepared for the evolving expectations of clients, regulators, insurers and legal professionals.