Managing workplace stress in law firms

It’s no secret that the sector is facing significant levels of stress. Despite law firms having more open conversations about mental health with their staff, various industry statistics highlight increasing levels of anxiety. In February 2025, the mental health and well-being charity LawCare reported its annual statistics, seeing a 13 percent jump in support requests received in 2024, compared to the previous year. Stress and anxiety was cited as the most common reason for contact. 

Drilling down into different legal professions reveals a similar pattern. The Conveyancing Foundation’s Wellbeing at Work Survey 2024 reveals workplace stress remains a significant factor for 68 percent of conveyancers, with 14 percent stating that stress is a constant factor in their working lives.  

The survey also asked respondents for suggestions to alleviate stress-related issues; many responses were in relation to recruiting more staff and reducing caseloads. 

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to these industry-wide issues. The nature of clients and consumers has shifted over the years, and we now live in a world in which you can have most items you want delivered to you the same or next day. This expectation then bleeds into other sectors, where it is virtually impossible for anything to get resolved overnight. 

Firms that take action and prioritise their employees’ mental well-being in 2025 will thrive, fostering a supportive and transparent workplace that boosts staff happiness, enhances work quality, and strengthens recruitment and retention. This helps companies to position themselves as an ‘employer of choice’. 

Meanwhile, companies that continue to grind their staff into the ground will suffer, risking a loss of productivity, lawyers on sick leave, and resignations. I’ve seen this first hand while working for previous firms. Unhappy staff would leave, increasing workloads and stress for those that remain. This would lead to the further loss of employees. Once that cycle starts, it’s very difficult to break - and recruiting top talent isn’t easy. I always say that the success of our business comes down to the quality of our staff; there is no substitution for experienced and knowledgeable members of the team, particularly as we seek to deliver the highest quality of service to clients. 

Prevention is really the only remedy that’s worth pursuing. With this in mind, here are a few ways law firms can put well-being first. 

Recruit ahead of time 

The reality is, an increasing number of experienced lawyers are leaving the profession, citing the stresses and demands of the role. Specifically in conveyancing, more people are leaving the profession than joining it and this creates a problem because training new staff to the same senior level takes a long time, usually years. 

It’s not always easy knowing when to recruit, but with top talent so few and far between, we try to start the recruitment process six months before a new role needs to be filled to match our growth. This allows time for suitable applicants to present themselves, and to account for notice periods. If you’re in a position where you need staff urgently, finding the right calibre of candidate is not guaranteed. Of course, if you are having to replace an employee that has left, you may have little option.

Recruitment issues have a direct impact on employee stress, and according to research, a short-staffed team is one of the main reasons individuals forgo their full annual leave entitlement, with the worry that that taking time off would have a negative effect on the rest of the team. 

Consider the bigger picture 

As lawyers, it’s in our nature to want to help as many people as we can. It’s great for business to have a constant flow of new/returning clients. However, we know that workload is a huge contributor to stress and burnout, which means stakeholders need to decide whether to turn work away when the company is at its limit, or risk staff becoming overstretched. 

It can feel uncomfortable turning away work, but if you get blinded by short-term financial gain, you miss the bigger picture of the impact it has on staff. At Fletcher Longstaff, we have made it a core principle of our business that our workloads are always manageable, and if expectations ever become unreasonable we encourage staff to be robust in saying so. Luckily, the vast majority of clients, when presented with our position on the matter, are understanding. They trust us to do the job that we are being paid for. 

Rethink rewards 

A sensible workload with a competitive salary is the bare minimum. Most companies will offer some kind of benefits package to staff, but consider whether the perks you offer are meaningful, and what makes them stand out against competitor offerings. Are employees actually making the most of their one free coffee a month, free cinema ticket or discounted gym membership, or have you missed the mark with what they really want? 

We recently had an overhaul of our benefits package and chose to partner with travel-focused employee rewards platform, Offwork, giving staff free monthly credits to put towards a staycation, or holiday abroad (with all flights auto offset, helping with sustainability). So far, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s exciting to offer something tangible which will allow our hard-working conveyancers to have a nice break! 

In addition, bonus schemes are common in the legal sector, offering financial incentives for high performance. However, it’s important to consider whether these are realistic and achievable, or unfairly limited by factors beyond their control. The latter can easily result in frustration among employees and add to their already high levels of stress as they set out to achieve something which is virtually impossible. 

Utilise AI: but carefully 

Whatever your views on AI, it’s only going to seep into our day-to-day lives more as time passes. We cannot hide from this and, even if we don’t embrace it entirely, we need to look at how it can be useful for us in the legal sector. 

As with any other new technology or innovation, we need to look at AI on its own merits. Is it safe for us to use? Can it assist us in achieving our objectives? Do clients want or expect us to be using it? 

At present, AI is good for accumulating and filtering information into an easily digestible format, and for assisting with simple data entry tasks that are an inefficient use of a skilled worker’s time. However, we’re a long way off replacing the skills and experience of a human solicitor, lawyer, or conveyancer, etc - especially soft skills such as empathy and sensitivity which are essential in this sector. 

Create a culture of balance  

We all recognise the value of work-life balance, but how many companies truly promote it? Legal professions can be very mentally taxing, and even when away from the office thoughts of work can seep in. 

Flexible working arrangements are a good start, but a company policy holds little weight if it’s not being actively monitored and enforced. Are managers ensuring their teams take regular breaks, avoid unpaid overtime (unfortunately a common occurrence in the legal sector), and take their full annual leave entitlement? 

It is also vital to ensure that an employee’s work is adequately covered during their leave. If they return to a mountain of work and frustrated clients then the benefit of that break is short lived.

In light of the UK Government’s consideration to give workers a legal ‘right to disconnect’ - as already enforced in several other countries including France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain - staff at all levels should also be discouraged from contacting colleagues after hours, maintaining boundaries between work and personal life. 

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