Managing Mental Well-being In The Legal Profession

Introduction

Most of you will agree with me that the legal profession is a prestigious and generally speaking, professionally rewarding, but also a mentally exhausting one. Clients entrust us with the biggest problems of their lives and expect that we will do our best possible to and the most suitable legal solutions to their problems.

However, whether it is the run- of- the-mill or complex brief, the long hours, sometimes difficult clients, gruelling deadlines and usual after hours ‘homework can take their toll. With the legal profession, (as with many professional services), there’s a 24-7 nature of work and life these days, that has become the new normal over the years, with constant emails, smart cell phones and the internet contributing to the information overload, thereby providing a tremendous amount of information out there, and the expectation of instantaneous responses.

For those in Litigation and dispute resolution practice, the adversarial nature of the practice is huge and can also elevate anxiety and stress; –lawyers, clients, judges and opposing counsel all tussling on different sides (for creative solutions and dare I say, fees).

Wellness is broadly viewed as having seven dimensions which include mental, physical, social, financial, spiritual, environmental and occupational. All are interdependent and influence each other. So, when one is out of balance the others are impacted.