When I took office in October, I was keen to ensure that solicitor wellbeing featured strongly in my Presidential Year Plan.
Law Society research shows that solicitors score lower than the UK average on all positive measures of wellbeing and are more likely to rate their anxiety levels higher. These numbers are exacerbated for juniors, women, minority ethnic and disabled solicitors.
While there’s growing awareness and recognition of wellbeing and mental health concerns in the legal community, many solicitors still face barriers to engaging with support services in the workplace.
According to the Welsh government’s Together for Mental Health strategy:
- One in four adults experiences mental health problems or illness at some point during their lifetime
- One in six will be experiencing symptoms at any one time
- Approximately 50% of people with enduring mental health problems will have symptoms by the time they are 14 and many at a much younger age
Additionally, Time to Change Wales found that 68% of people are putting on a ‘brave face’ to avoid talking about their mental health during difficult times, with 48% of people in Wales believing that mental health is a taboo topic. Thirty two percent say work takes a toll on their mental health and 69% felt uncomfortable talking about mental health with a current or prospective employer.
Law firms in Wales
As only the third Welsh president, I thought it was important to highlight the support available to our members in Wales, to coincide with International Men’s Day – which celebrates the positive value men bring to their, families communities and the world.
In Wales, many firms are micro-firms, many without back-office functions and nearly half of firms in Wales employ fewer than 10 solicitors.
This means these firms don’t usually have the resources to provide structured wellbeing support.
However, the Welsh government does have some support in place for small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) seeking to support their employees’ mental health and wellbeing.
In 2023, the Welsh government announced that it would be providing £8 million to deliver its In-Work Support Service, which provides free access to therapeutic support for employees of SMEs or the self-employed.
Support is available for those who are at risk of becoming absent from work with mental or physical ill-health, with the aim of helping them to remain or return to work.
The mental health support includes counselling and stress management.
RCS Wales provides training, coaching and support to businesses in Wales to help improve the wellbeing of their teams.
Its In Work Support Service, which is aimed at SMEs or the self-employed, gives individuals access to occupational health support, such as talking and physical therapies, employer liaison and information about employment rights.
They provide In-Work support in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.
Mind Cymru
Aside from business support, there are also organisations dedicated to providing mental health and wellbeing support for people in Wales, such as Mind Cymru, which has a range of resources to help someone get help for their mental health.
This includes a local Mind in every single local authority in Wales, where they offer mental health services tailored to the needs of their community.
Legal charity LawCare also provides support to the profession, including a free helpline, online chat and email.
I hope our members in Wales will make use of the resources available and seek help when they feel they need it.
Personally, I find that running has helped with my wellbeing and I have launched a social running club for legal community – LegalRunner. We have a number of running groups in Wales and if you want to get involved please take a look at the LegalRunner website.
Mark Evans is president of the Law Society of England and Wales
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