LawCare launches new guidance as number of people requesting support increases

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Legal mental health charity LawCare has reported a 24% increase in the number of people contacting the charity for support so far this year as it reveals plans to launch new guidance for employers on World Mental Health Day.

According to LawCare, legal professionals are feeling overwhelmed and stressed as they grapple with a challenging work environment amid the global financial crisis and heavy workloads, among other issues.

LawCare CEO Elizabeth Rimmer said: “Employers need to accept there are risks to mental health in the accepted working practices in law and take steps to mitigate, modify or remove these risks. Employers should focus on how the workplace can protect the mental health of their people, not undermine it.”

The demand for support highlights the increasing pressures that come with working in law and the lack of mental health support in the workplace.

As such, on 10 October 2023 (this year’s World Mental Health Day), the charity is launching new guidance to help employers take informed steps to protect employees’ mental health at work. The guidance aims to help reduce the risks that legal professionals face to their mental health at work (ie, psychological risks) as opposed to waiting until the issues arise. Rimmer explains that often employers “respond to colleagues with work-related mental health concerns once a problem has arisen” but the goal should be “to prevent these developing in the first place”. The charity’s CEO urges employers to transition “from a support-based approach to mental health to a risk-based approach”.

Meanwhile, LawCare’s annual ‘Building a better life in the law’ conference will take place virtually on 16 November 2023, exploring the psychological risks in legal workplaces and the key to supporting the mental wellbeing of staff.