On the 30th of June 2021, the Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten (NOvA) opened registration for a new resilience training programme for lawyers. The training is designed to give lawyers practical assistance to address threats encountered during the course of their daily practice. The NOvA developed the training in recognition of the fact that during the…
Canada launches national wellbeing study of legal professionals
A partnership of the different Canadian law societies, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Canadian Bar Association and the Université de Sherbrooke is coming together for a first-of-its-kind national study on the well-being of legal professionals. The study is based on the fact that legal practitioners are amongst the grouping of professionals most…
Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism: five ways to improve well-being in the legal profession
Stephanie Villinski, Deputy Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, has released her take on improving lawyer well-being, based on ‘The Future Is Now: Legal Services conference’, which is the Commission on Professionalism’s annual future law event. Ms. Villinski reflects on the fact that many of the changes that can have the greatest…
Stress, drink, leave: An examination of gender-specific risk factors for mental health problems and attrition among licensed attorneys
Abstract Rates of mental illness and heavy alcohol use are exceedingly high in the legal profession, while attrition among women has also been a longstanding problem. Work overcommitment, work-family conflict, permissiveness toward alcohol in the workplace, and the likelihood of promotion are all implicated but have yet to be systematically investigated. Data were collected from…
Wellness and Law: Reforming Legal Education to Support Student Wellness
Abstract No one goes to law school with the expectation that their mental health and overall well-being will be significantly compromised during those three years. But, for a substantial number of law students, it is. It does not have to be this way. This is not a typical law review article. It cannot afford to…
Bar Standards Board of England and Wales Releases Report on Bullying and Harrasment
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has released a new report commissioned from YouGov, looking at bullying and harassment within the profession. The qualitative study, was commissioned as part of the regulator’s ongoing programme to address the root causes of bullying, discrimination and harassment at the Bar. The report involved 35 telephone interviews with 30 barristers, and…
NSW law society to provide solicitors with session with psychologist
The Law Society of New South Wales (NSW) has launched its new Solicitor Outreach Service (SOS) as part of its ongoing efforts to support the mental health and wellbeing of the state’s lawyers. Solicitors in the state will be provided with 3 sessions a year, with a qualified psychologist free of charge, and will also…
IBA launches project on lawyer mental wellbeing
The International Bar Association (IBA) has launched a global project aimed at addressing the mental wellbeing of legal professionals, particularly in light of the tensions raised by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first phase of the project is made up of two global surveys – one for individual lawyers, the other for law firms and…
Law Society of Scotland launches new mental health action plan
On Wednesday the 3rd June, The Law Society of Scotland launched a three-year action plan that aims to tackle the stigma around mental health in the legal sector. The plan follows the release of a survey in 2019 on the Scottish legal profession and individual views on mental health and the workplace. The full survey…
The Bar of Ireland releases balance at the Bar survey
The Bar of Ireland has released a survey of 567 practitioners looking at workplace satisfaction and wellbeing in the Bar. The survey looks at various topics including anxiety and stress, mental and physical health, workplace happiness and workplace issues. The survey demonstrates some of the improved benefits to wellbeing in maintaining an open profession where…