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Taking care of mental health

28 June 2024 / Elizabeth Rimmer
Issue: 8077 / Categories: Features , Profession , Mental health , Career focus
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Elizabeth Rimmer offers advice on healthy habits for new & experienced lawyers

A career in the legal sector can be a challenging journey, often fraught with unexpected hurdles that can take a toll on mental health and wellbeing. The competitive and fast-paced nature of a career in law often creates immense pressure for people just starting out.

At LawCare, the mental health charity for the legal sector, it’s clear that junior legal professionals face struggles when it comes to mental health. In 2023, 42% of people reaching out for support from LawCare (and who told us how long they had been qualified) were trainees or newly qualified lawyers. This trend has remained consistent over the years, indicating that these groups are still not getting the support they need.

How might people at the beginning of their careers feel?

Working in the legal sector may not be what they had imagined, and the competitive and busy environment might affect them more than they expected. They may have spent years (and

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Birketts—trainee cohort

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Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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