LawCare, the mental health charity for legal professionals in the UK, today released new support statistics and its impact report
LawCare’s 2022 impact report shows that nearly a quarter (22%) of people contacting LawCare for support were primarily concerned about their career in the law. This is a dramatic increase from just over 8% in 2021.
For the first time, the number of people with career concerns equaled the number of legal professionals seeking help because of stress (also 22%).
“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. There was a wide range of career concerns raised from struggles with training, to becoming a lawyer, to wanting to retire early. We are also hearing from people who don’t see 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.”
Elizabeth Rimmer, Chief Executive of LawCare
Most of the people getting in touch are at the beginning of their careers
During 2022, 60% of the people who contacted LawCare for support and told us how long they had been qualified were trainees/pupils or had been qualified less than 5 years. This is very similar to last year’s figures and suggests that junior legal professionals are still not getting the emotional support they need in their workplace.Men’s mental health
LawCare also saw a 3% increase in the percentage of contacts from men, which reflected the impact of LawCare’s report and work during 2022 to encourage more men in law to seek support for their mental health.LawCare’s support service
- LawCare’s support service was contacted 849 times for support in 2022 (an increase of 18 from 2021).
- We spent 250 hours talking to callers on the phone.
- The average phone call took 26 minutes – and the longest 1 hour and 33 mins.
LawCare’s 2022 Impact report
The impact report provides an insight into the work led by LawCare’s board, staff, volunteers and champions to provide emotional support to the legal community.
Listen to the audio summary of LawCare’s Impact report
