Massive jump in number of legal professionals with career worries, LawCare reveals

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Today LawCare, the mental well-being charity for legal professionals, released new support statistics and its impact report, which revealed that 22% of those who contacted the charity for support in 2022 were predominantly concerned about their career in the law.

This is a 14% increase compared to 2021 when 8% of respondents’ concerns were linked to their career in the profession. This number (22%) now matches the percentage of legal professionals who seek help due to stress.

Elizabeth Rimmer, chief executive of LawCare, commented: “The number of people who contacted us with career concerns now equals the number of people getting in touch about stress. This willingness to question their 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 don’t meet their needs and expectations and could be undermining their mental health.”

She later added: “We are also hearing from people who don’t see the law as a lifelong career. We anticipate that in 2023 the number of people contacting us with career concerns may grow as the tough economic climate takes its toll.”

The age range of those seeking help remains at a similar level to previous years, with 60% of the people who contacted LawCare for support (who revealed their current position) being trainees/pupils or qualified for under five years.

The charity notes that this suggests that junior legal professionals are “still not getting the emotional support they need in the workplace”.

On a positive note, the report revealed that LawCare saw a 3% rise in the percentage of contacts from men. This reflects the work done by LawCare in 2022 to encourage men to speak out and seek support for their mental health.

Overall, the charity, which was contacted 849 times for support in 2022, spent 250 hours talking to callers on the phone.