Mitigating wellbeing challenges for in-house lawyers

In-house counsel, due to the nature of their role, face unique wellbeing challenges, among them the strains brought by tight budgets and working in an environment where many colleagues may be non-legal staff. Susie Lunt reports on how these challenges can be mitigated.  

Thanks to long hours, tight budgets and a lack of understanding by non-legal colleagues, mental health issues are far from unknown to in-house lawyers.

But, while the unique stresses of their roles present unarguable wellbeing challenges, according to industry professionals these can be mitigated – particularly with targeted leadership support.

Michelle Bakhos, counsel at Michelle Bakhos Law Practice and Co-Chair of the IBA Young Lawyers Committee (YLC), says life for in-house lawyers is both stimulating and also challenging, thanks to their duty of confidentiality and because they operate within a diverse group of employees who are non-lawyers.

‘As such, they may find they cannot discuss certain things with colleagues, which can leave them feeling alone and under pressure to deal with their wellbeing concerns in private,’ says Bakhos.

Indeed, Elizabeth Rimmer, Chief Executive of mental health charity LawCare, which focuses on prevention, education and support in the United Kingdom and Ireland, says significant research shows higher rates of anxiety and depression for lawyers across the board in comparison to the general public.

‘There’s something about the culture and practice of law having an impact on people – lawyers are the sort of people who are perfectionist and driven and find it hard to admit they are struggling,’ Rimmer notes. ‘At LawCare, the two most common reasons which contribute to lawyers feeling stressed are working long hours and difficult relationships with colleagues, where they don’t feel well supported.’

‘They like to fix other people’s problems, not their own, have a fear of making mistakes and the culture is very pressured, which can create the perfect storm,’ adds Rimmer.

Rimmer says in-house lawyers often are expected to work across a multitude of matters at the same time and to respond very quickly. ‘It can be tough trying to explain to the part of the business you might be supporting what the legal implications are of something they want done yesterday – and that you might be putting the brakes on that.’

‘People don’t always understand what the legal function is and the pressure on lawyers in terms of delivering legal obligations; in a law firm, they’d get that, as everyone around is a lawyer,’ explains Rimmer.

In-house lawyers in smaller organisations can feel isolated in a small legal team: ‘They may be sole counsel and not have colleagues who they can bounce legal things off.’

Mitigating these challenges takes several forms.

Rick Smith (not his real name), a legal counsel, says key steps include integration into the business and facilitating and nurturing relationship-building with other departments and colleagues.

‘An example of this is doing a legal roadshow, where lawyers present their team’s function, role, capacities, preferred method of instruction, et cetera, and thereby educate the business and, in turn, build partnerships,’ he says.

Smith believes organisations should ensure legal teams are well-resourced and supported, ‘having external counsel on standby for busy periods, so work can be out-sourced accordingly’.

Other pointers include regular, informal one-to-ones with managers and teams to encourage open discussion regarding wellbeing and mentor or buddy systems with colleagues across the business.

Rimmer says the nub of the matter is understanding the pressure in-house lawyers are under. ‘Are senior managers aware, are there questions about how they are coping with their work, are they able to recognise warning signs that something may be going wrong?’

‘Firms often have a wellbeing policy, but it doesn’t necessarily translate into people feeling better supported in the workplace. They need to practice what they preach.’

Rimmer explains that good leadership is essential. ‘Wellbeing in the workplace starts at the top and we need to see senior people talking openly about mental health and wellbeing,’ she says, describing this as a leadership duty. ‘People are at their best if they are well supported, mentally healthy and thriving in the workplace and that comes from the top.’

LawCare asks employers to embed mental health in training and supervision, communicate policies and do ‘simple things’, such as supporting Mental Health Awareness Week.

Bakhos says in-house lawyers should have an avenue to discuss their concerns, whether outside the organisation or with a professional, to avoid stresses getting out of hand. ‘If you are a part of a legal team, this can be a good support network to leverage on a day-to-day basis; I find being part of teams outside of work very helpful to get a change of scenery and perspective, for example, sports groups, yoga and associations like contributing to a committee in the IBA.’

She says general counsel can also support by being proactive in talking about concerns, taking steps to check in with their people and discussing a self-care plan. ‘Whilst lawyers may have high mental and professional resilience, acknowledging prevention is better than cure is a good start to work towards supporting team members before it gets out of hand.’

Wellbeing is an issue for younger professionals, too.

‘Young lawyers in the in-house world keen to please and make an impact in their organisations may overcommit to their internal clients, which can quickly build,’ says Bakhos.‘It is important to set boundaries and take control of your time.’

‘One of the reasons the YLC was created was to support young lawyers in their foundational years of practice, including managing challenges and wellbeing.’

Amy Clowrey, Chair of the Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society of England and Wales, says employee wellbeing is also ‘extremely important’ to her committee.

She says that firms need to be doing more to work on their culture. ‘Legal training should be preparing junior lawyers with the skills to build resilience to work in a stressful profession,’ adding that junior lawyers should feel confident enough to speak up and break stigmas, with the upside that a positive working culture means a more productive workforce and better results.

‘Firms that have happy staff have good retention rates and keep staff – the legal profession risks losing its best talent if lawyers are not supported.’

Among other initiatives, Clowrey’s committee is in the third year of a resilience and wellbeing survey, offers employers best practice guidance and signposts charities and other resources.