Keeping Tabs - Winter 2022

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MENTAL HEALTH How Young Lawyers Can Improve Mental Health in the Legal Profession Erin Durant, Durant Barristers In a few months, I will amazingly no longer be a “young” lawyer. I was excited to write this article for two reasons. First, it is a topic that I have become very passionate about given my own personal struggles. Second, years ago I was the first editor of <strong>Keeping</strong> <strong>Tabs</strong> and I am so proud to see how far this publication has come. A recent study showed that lawyers between the ages of 26 and 35 displayed the highest burnout scores and reported the lowest autonomy and highest work intensity scores compared to their more experienced peers. Those results would not surprise anyone reading this publication: there is no question that the typical law firm leverage model requires young lawyers to work very hard, long hours and, increasingly, with less administrative support than more experienced lawyers had at the same stage in their career. 10
practice of law a better place? (Don’t worry, I am not going to suggest yoga, wellness webinars or meditating at 2 am after an 18-hour workday): 1. The demand for young lawyers is very high right now across the industry. You have leverage. Demand change internally or use the leverage when negotiating a new position. Focus on small stressors and easy changes, then work your way up. 2. Share articles with suggestions about improving the workplace with your colleagues and supervisors. 3. Be an example for others. Watch out for articling students and younger associates. Model healthy habits. Teach them how to make room for personal time and health. Help them deflect work when they are over capacity. The typical approach in most law firms is to focus on fixing the individual or making them more resilient. While these approaches may delay a burnout or full-blown mental health crisis, they will not solve the problem. Even the most resilient of us can break down. Before my breakdown in early 2021 I was the most physically healthy that I had been in close to a decade. I was exercising, eating well, drinking less and doing my best to take care of myself. It was not enough. Burnout is an institutional problem. It is caused by chronic workplace stress. Similarly, the overwork, stress, and lack of control that many people feel about their career can lead to or exacerbate depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. I believe that it is not the practice of law itself that causes many of our problems, but rather firm structures and policies that have placed more and more work on lawyers who have less and less time. Pile on a pandemic and it is a recipe for disaster. So, what can younger lawyers do to make the 4. Keep the discussion about mental health and burnout in the legal profession going. Great strides have been made during the pandemic to allow this topic to be discussed openly. It is up to all of us to keep the momentum going. 5. Consider voting with your feet. There are several new boutique firms that have spun off larger firms that do high quality work and that are committed to a healthier work environment. You do not need to be stuck in a workplace that makes you unhappy and unwell for the rest of your career. A mentor told me while I was in the midst of my crisis that a legal career is a marathon, not a sprint. I took that advice to heart. It is unfortunate that I went through a very difficult time personally, but it has not, in any way, derailed my career. The experience allowed me to realize that I could build my own firm and operate it in a way that is both profitable and healthy for me and my staff. If all else fails, maybe one day you can do the same. 11
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Keeping Tabs - Winter 2022

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