Nearly 60% of legal professionals report poor mental health, LawCare report finds

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Nearly 60% of legal professionals reported poor mental health, while half said they had experienced frequent anxiety over the past 12 months, according to LawCare’s 2025 Life in the Law report. The findings also show that 56.2% are considering leaving their roles within the next five years, raising ongoing concerns about wellbeing in the sector.

LawCare’s sector-wide survey, which took place between January and March 2025, gathered insights from individuals and organisations about their working experiences,  highlighting the impact of long hours, lack of managerial support and insufficient training.

Working beyond contracted hours was found to be common among those surveyed, with 78.7% saying they do so regularly and 8.5% estimating that they worked 21 (or more) hours extra per week. LawCare indicated a burnout score of 37.8, where a score above 34.8 suggests a “high risk of burnout”. Those with poor mental health and wellbeing, and those with higher risk of burnout and/or higher work intensity also reported lower levels of psychological safety.

Looking at managers, the survey found that they are often not equipped to support direct reports, with only 54.6% of managers having received training in this area. LawCare’s survey for organisations found that fewer than half offered training to individuals who managed others, and just 21% provided specific mental health and wellbeing training for managers. Meanwhile, just 31.3% of individuals with management responsibilities said that their targets or billable hours were adjusted to reflect the time spent supporting colleagues or delivering training, with only 31.7% describing this adjustment as “adequate”.

LawCare has laid out several recommendations based on its findings, encouraging businesses to:

• challenge long hours culture and manage workloads to prevent burnout;
• provide managers with sufficient training and time to provide enough support to direct reports;
• embed hybrid and flexible working practices that meet diverse needs;
• assess whether current mental health programmes are making an impact; and
• provide training to people joining the sector to allow them to develop the needed skills and knowledge for a sustainable legal career.

In 2026, LawCare will start a programme of engagement to develop the resources and training to support leaders and organisations to put these recommendations into practice. The charity urges the entire sector – every firm, chambers, in-house team, courtroom, professional body, regulator, education provider, insurer and every individual – “to step up and take action to create a sustainable sector”.

LawCare’s CEO Elizabeth Rimmer says: “We have it in our hands to transform the way we work and build a future where people are supported to perform at their best and build sustainable careers. The path to prioritising mental health and wellbeing before us is clear. Now is the time for leaders to act with courage: move away from practices that normalise overwork, which risk driving people out of the sector, and take the path to a better future by valuing people management.” 

Read this Feature for further insight into mental health in the legal profession, including advice from Elizabeth Rimmer.