Wellbeing & the Culture of the Law
On 23 July the Victorian Legal Services Board & Commissioner released the report of a qualitative study it conducted of Victoria’s legal profession in 2019. The report was titled the “Lawyer Wellbeing Project”. Its aim was to identify the systemic drivers of poor wellbeing in the Victorian legal profession.
There were 4 main findings of the study:
Assimilation into the culture of poor wellbeing starts early
The study found that very early in their careers young lawyers are taught that they should not prioritise their wellbeing and that a failure to cope is a sign of weakness. An early acculturation to stress and overwork starts in law school and continues into their early career. This is compounded by the failure to be supported with any coping strategies which would equip them to deal with the stress they experience.
The purposeful cultivation of young lawyers’ perfectionism was also noted in a number of places throughout the Report as contributing to the systemic acceptance of poor wellbeing within the Victorian legal profession.
Significant barriers to achieving wellbeing exist
There were a number of cultural and institutional barriers to achieving wellbeing identified by the study. These included an acceptance of bullying, a lack of people skills by senior lawyers, exposure to vicarious trauma, sexual harassment, sexism and racism. A related factor also identified in the study was toxic masculinity and the glorification of wealth and power.
A positive direction is emerging
Despite the negative cultural findings of the study, there were some glimmers of hope. There is a growing acceptance within the profession of the importance of wellbeing and the topic is now openly discussed.
The Victorian Bar was identified as a positive force for change as were certain high profile individuals including Justice Michael Kirby AC.
There was also mention of better managerial practices and organisational initiatives. However, my impression from the report is that these managerial practices and initiatives are at the more rudimentary end of the spectrum such as encouraging the use of EAP services rather than affecting more systemic change.
Improvements suggested
Providing training to managerial staff in good management practices and wellbeing was identified by the report as one of the key areas for improvement. It was suggested that such training could be included in the Practice Management Course or as part of a CPD program.
It strikes me that the study reveals that the legal profession has so much further to go when it comes to improving the wellbeing of its workforce. The report clearly identifies culture as the primary driver of poor wellbeing outcomes in lawyers. This means that cultural change is what is required. In my experience, and based on the reflections in the study, wellbeing programs currently being offered are only just seeking to treat the symptoms of the illness and are not directed at systemic change.
So, what is the solution? It is not sufficient to pay lip service to lawyers’ wellbeing. Cultural change must come from the top and lawyer wellbeing must be a core value at the heart of every law firm. It must be a value that is lived daily throughout the firm and in its interactions with clients, service providers and other firms.
This change will be hard and there will be those who do not believe it's worthwhile. However, I truly believe that this change is going to be fundamental to the survival of the legal profession as we know it. Law firms must be focused on the sustainability of the profession if the law is going to be considered a viable and satisfying career for young people in the future. Smart young people have a million different career options. Are we going to make it easy for them to choose the law?
A full copy of the report can be found by clicking on this link.