Legal charity LawCare is teaming up with a group of leading academics for the biggest study ever undertaken of wellbeing in the sector.

Ahead of World Mental Health Day this weekend, the charity will look at the impact of work culture and working practices on the happiness of legal professionals.

Lawyers and support staff are being asked to take part in the Life in the Law online questionnaire, with the results forming the basis of an academic paper and announced next year.

LawCare chief executive Elizabeth Rimmer said: ‘We hope it will give us a clear picture of how the culture and practice of law affects mental health. The results will help us to improve the support available to legal professionals and drive long lasting change in legal workplaces so that people working in the law can thrive.’

Working alongside Dr Emma Jones (University of Sheffield), Professor Richard Collier (University of Newcastle), Caroline Strevens (reader in legal education, University of Portsmouth) and Lucinda Soon (solicitor and PhD researcher), the study will assess the day-to-day realities of life in the law and assess levels of burn-out, psychological safety and autonomy. Also leading the project are Nick Bloy, executive coach and founder of Wellbeing Republic and Kayleigh Leonie, LawCare trustee and solicitor.