LawCare warns of work stress links with alcoholism

updated on 22 January 2013

The legal healthcare charity LawCare's review of 2012 has reported that stress issues continue to be the most frequent reason that lawyers call its helpline. LawCare also emphasised the dangers of stress leading to alcoholism if left unchecked.

Stress accounted for 69% of the charity's case files last year. Legal Futures reports that depression made up 13% of cases and alcohol problems were responsible for 6%, with the remaining 12% of cases involved a range of disparate issues. Women made up 62% of callers, while 65% of all callers had been qualified for more than five years. Stress due to workload was the most commonly cited cause, accounting for 28% of reasons given.

LawCare's review stated: "Among callers reporting problems with alcohol misuse, it was noteworthy that 87% had been qualified for 10 years or more. This compares with 37% of those complaining of stress that had been qualified for more than a decade. LawCare's theory - that new lawyers start drinking to alleviate the stress and then later find themselves addicted - would seem still to be borne out by these figures."