Life in the Law 2025 report is out now. The study, conducted by LawCare – the mental health charity for the legal sector, involved surveying individuals and organisations across the legal sector from January to March 2025 about how working in law is affecting mental health and wellbeing.
The findings confirm both the scale of the challenge and the urgency for action.
Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO of LawCare will be Chairing a panel at the Legal Forum at MAD World unpacking key insights from the Life in the Law 2025 report with leaders from the legal sector. Find out more, and register for MAD World Leaders Summit on 9th October in London here.
The Life in the Law study, which is conducted just once every four years, highlights the opportunity to build a legal sector that values its people and protects their mental health and wellbeing at work. It emphasises that this is fundamental to the profession’s ability to administer justice and uphold the rule of law.
The report sets out practical steps towards a healthier future and shows how, with strong leadership and decisive action, wellbeing can be embedded into everyday legal practice.
- 56% said they could see themselves leaving their current workplace within the next five years, with 32% saying they could leave the sector entirely.
- Nearly 60% reported poor mental wellbeing.
- Almost 79% said they regularly work beyond their contracted hours.
- Only 31% of people who managed others said that their targets or billable hours were adjusted to take into account the time they need to spend managing others or undertaking appropriate training.
The report highlights the evidence-based steps that can improve working practices in legal workplaces to better protect mental health and wellbeing:
1️⃣ Prevent burnout by actively managing workloads, rethinking targets and incentives, and challenging the culture of long hours.
2️⃣ Prioritise and value managing people.
3️⃣ Embed hybrid and flexible working practices that meet diverse needs.
4️⃣ Evaluate programmes and activities that support mental health and wellbeing at work to ensure they deliver real impact.
5️⃣ Equip people joining the sector with the skills and knowledge they need for a sustainable legal career.
LawCare is calling on every firm, every chambers, every in-house team, every courtroom, every professional body, every regulator, every educational organisation, every insurer, every individual and every leader to step up and take action to create a sustainable sector – one that inspires trust, is progressive, and above all, values its people as its greatest strength.
