There may never have been a better time to read The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, a 2017 report by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being.

The Report “defines well-being and sheds light on the lack of well-being in the legal profession.” It then “offers concrete, actionable recommendations on how to fix the problems […] .” The document can be read online, where recommendations may be accessed by stakeholder (defined as “judges, regulators, legal employers, law schools, bar associations, professional liability carriers, and lawyer assistance programs”), or downloaded as a PDF.

This is an extremely important report and should be considered by every law firm leader.

My experience working with many firms globally, is that some lawyers believe that their problems are unique to them and not widely shared in the profession. That is wrong.

These are tough times for lawyers to perform in a way that meets their firm’s expectations. Competition in the legal marketplace has never been more intense. Lawyers are dealing with increased client pressures (including fee pressures), and the rapid acceleration of technology is posing a real threat to pieces of traditional legal work.
The sum total of such professional pressures, when added to global concerns shared by almost everyone and the inevitable personal issues of individuals, can create an emotional situation that is ripe for disaster. With the help of this report, a law firm that is determined to address the issue of lawyer well-being before it is too late for any member of its staff – or before it loses any of its brightest minds to other firms, or even to different career paths – is taking a step in the right direction.
As always, I am interested to know your thoughts on this or any other area of the law, either in the comments section below, or directly via email.