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The current picture isn't encouraging
LawCare’s Impact Report 2024 reported that legal professionals had reached out to them over 1,000 times that year for support – the most ever in a single year and a 13% increase on 2023. The breakdown tells a concerning story: 39% of contacts for stress and anxiety, 15% for career concerns, and 10% due to bullying and harassment at work.
The picture remains concerning. LawCare's newly released Life in the Law 2025 report reveals that 59.1% of surveyed legal professionals had low levels of mental wellbeing, with 43.4% reporting that work very significantly influenced their mental health and wellbeing.
While most mental health challenges can be managed with appropriate support, the stigma around discussing these issues in professional settings persists.
Where are firms going wrong?
Many firms approach mental health support through:
· Employment support resources (EAPs, wellness apps) with consistently low uptake
· One-off Mental Health Awareness Week activities
· Generic seminars covering topics such as stress management
· Annual wellbeing surveys that don’t lead to meaningful change
While well-intentioned, these approaches often miss the mark because they don't equip people with practical skills they can use when facing the specific pressures of legal practice.
What works better: practical tools, not just awareness
Mental health support tends to be most effective when it gives lawyers concrete techniques they can apply in real situations - consider these practical approaches:
1. Circle of Influence – A widely-used framework from Stephen Covey’s influential book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this technique helps lawyers focus their energy on what they can control rather than external stressors. For example, the Circle of Influence technique helps lawyers distinguish between stressing about court outcomes (outside their control) and focusing on case preparation quality (within their control).
2. Emotional regulation techniques – Simple but powerful methods like "name it to tame it" (identifying emotions to reduce their intensity) and box breathing that lawyers can use before difficult conversations or court appearances.
3. Professional boundary strategies – Practical approaches for managing demanding clients and protecting wellbeing without compromising service quality.
4. Colleague support skills – Knowing how to check in genuinely with team members and when to suggest professional help.
Meeting your professional obligations
Beyond the moral imperative, firms face specific regulatory requirements that directly impact mental health considerations. The SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors paragraph 1.5 requires solicitors to treat colleagues fairly and with respect, whilst paragraph 1.6 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms places similar obligations on firms to ensure all employees meet this standard. Managers must actively challenge behaviour that falls short of these requirements.
These aren't just general fairness principles - they create measurable obligations for all staff and managers when workplace stress stems from poor management practices or toxic behaviours.
UK employers have a legal duty to protect their employees from work-related stress under existing health and safety legislation. The HSE Management Standards provide a practical, six-step framework that helps employers meet these obligations through proper risk assessment and targeted interventions.
Firms that proactively address these requirements through comprehensive mental health training demonstrate due diligence whilst protecting their firms from regulatory scrutiny and potential intervention.
The business case is clear
For law firms, mental health challenges create tangible business impacts that extend beyond general productivity concerns:
v Professional Indemnity implications - stressed lawyers make more errors, increasing claims risk and potentially affecting PI premiums. Documentation of proactive wellbeing measures can demonstrate reasonable care in risk management.
v Regulatory standing - firms with robust mental health training and support are better positioned to handle SRA scrutiny, demonstrating systematic approaches to staff wellbeing obligations.
As this shows, mental health initiatives can directly impact your firm's profitability and regulatory standing.
The path forward: practical training that works
While mental health challenges will always be part of the human experience, practical action can make a meaningful difference in how we support ourselves and our colleagues.
Recognising this need, we've updated our comprehensive eLearning course, Mental Health Awareness for Law Firms, to move beyond generic wellness training and address the unique pressures facing legal professionals today.
The course equips lawyers with specific techniques they can use immediately - from managing difficult client interactions to recognizing when colleagues need support.
It also addresses relevant SRA and HSE compliance requirements, helping firms meet their regulatory obligations whilst genuinely supporting their teams, as well as including dedicated guidance for managers on creating supportive workplace cultures.
Access Legal’s Mental Health Awareness for Law Firm course will be available from 09.10.25 in our extensive Governance, Risk and Compliance catalogue of eLearning courses, aimed at helping firms meet their legal and regulatory obligations.