IEL has covered many disturbing, alarming, and heartbreaking stories over the past five years. Stories involving allegations of sexual assault, racism, and loss of life that leave deep emotional wounds not only among the parties involved, but also among the lawyers tasked with tackling the legal issues at hand.

From the offset, most employment lawyers know they are stepping into a high-pressure, long-hours role dictated by client need. But they may not be as prepared for that one traumatic case that – for whatever reason – just sticks with them. Or for being on the receiving end of an unhappy client or angry litigant looking to blame someone for a case that didn’t go their way.

According to UK mental health charity LawCare, nearly 60% of lawyers across all practice areas reported poor mental wellbeing last year. Burnout, stress, and anxiety were all common with nearly half of respondents (43%) admitting work significantly affected their mental health. 

I always make a point of telling the team when I find the evidence upsetting, so that they hopefully feel it is a safe space to share their own views

The expectations and pressures placed on lawyers will always be there. But until AI makes human advocates redundant, law firms still have a duty to care for their lawyers – whether it be for a young associate still finding their feet or a seasoned partner blindsided by the most intense or harrowing of cases.

Sexual violence triggers

One-in-15 people globally has experienced sexual violence and harassment at work, according to a 2022 International Labour Organization study. Across every conceivable sector of the world economy, some of the planet’s biggest employers have been rocked by claims of sexual assault and rape.

Where the evidence is particularly distressing, practice leaders must ensure sturdy support frameworks are in place and readily communicated to lawyers working on such abuse cases.

“We would always ask the team whether they are comfortable working on it; they don’t need to tell us why they don’t feel comfortable if that is their response,” A&O Shearman’s Sarah Henchoz tells IEL.

“We make it clear what the case is about, what evidence they may have to review, and what witnesses they may have to speak to, so that they can make an informed decision. Even if a member of the team says they are happy to work on the case, we will check in regularly as it progresses to ensure they are OK.” 

It is also crucial that young lawyers understand that no one, no matter their seniority, is immune to the impact such difficult work can have on wellbeing. 

“Personally, I always make a point of telling the team when I find the evidence upsetting, so that they hopefully feel it is a safe space to share their own views,” says Henchoz. “It can be healthy to share the impact it is having on me with someone else, rather than bottling it up.”

A mental-health champion at her firm, Henchoz also stressed the importance of round-the-clock employee assistance programmes which can help staff confide in external experts if they are wary of sharing their feelings internally.

Adding another layer of safeguarding, The Survivors Trust, which supports specialist rape and sexual abuse services in the UK, has conducted in-house training to equip A&O Shearman’s lawyers with the confidence to sensitively handle disclosures of all forms of trauma as well as offer selfcare and techniques to build resilience. 

“This has been invaluable – helping us to better understand the perspective of victims of such events and helping us have more frank and honest conversations internally about the cases we are working on and how challenging they can be,” Henchoz says.

Graphic exposure risk 

While firms should be guarded against the impact of a particularly horrific single case, they must also beware their lawyers becoming overexposed to traumatic work. Consider, for example, the host of lawsuits filed against social media giants for exposing their content moderators to harmful content.

Though viewing graphic or distressing content comes with the territory for many employment lawyers, firms must ensure protections are in place against overexposure. For this reason, Henchoz says the most troubling footage or facts are not always shared with all her team. 

Having a healthy balance of work can be useful to counteract the matters which are more emotionally draining

“Instead, we keep it to the partner working on the file, if that is at all possible – or we would first tell people the nature of it before we share it, so that they can say if they have any concerns,” Henchoz notes. 

“We are also clear that it should not be shared or accessed with or near anyone who is not working on the matter, so that another team member does not inadvertently get access to something they may find upsetting. 

“People shouldn’t work on such cases exclusively or in quick succession – we are lucky that we have a big team and can rotate this type of work between us, so that no one is working on harrowing matters all the time, partners included. Having a healthy balance of work can be useful to counteract the matters which are more emotionally draining.”

Offering team members a “lessons learned” session, so individuals can vocalise the impact of a given case, can be invaluable to ensure similar future matters are approached with best practice and wellbeing in mind, Henchoz adds.

“Ultimately, it may not always be possible to identify that someone is at risk until after the event,” she continues. “That said, having an environment where people can speak up about how they feel, and having regular check points within the team to make sure we are doing all we can to support people, are vital actions.”

Threats to livelihood

With workplace grievances bringing deep emotional stakes for those involved, it is not uncommon for employment lawyers to feel the brunt of the parties’ frustrations. 

Unfounded accusations of professional misconduct reported to legal sector regulators and threats of costly, time-consuming lawsuits are, unfortunately, part and parcel of modern legal practice – especially so when acting in cases involving unrepresented litigants who may feel the entire legal establishment is against them. 

With nearly one-in-three UK Employment Tribunal cases now brought by claimants who are representing themselves, some practice heads are seeing an uptick in threats of regulatory reports and lawsuits against their teams.

But concern about potential reputational damage is not all lawyers must worry about. 

Almost half (49%) of UK solicitors and their firms have received a threat in the past 12 months, with some reporting multiple incidents, according to a Law Society survey from last August. More than one-third (38%) feared for their personal safety, while one-in-eight (13%) had considered leaving the profession because of the threats they faced. 

If an individual has been sending offensive emails, or the firm is concerned that there is a risk of this, it works with its IT team in relation to blocking or filtering emails as appropriate

One survey respondent said they had received threats to set their house on fire, harm their family, and even had cancer wished upon them. Others reported the need to install panic buttons and to reschedule staff to ensure no one worked alone in the office at any time. 

“There seems to be an increase in individual lawyers being targeted by litigants, including in some cases bringing claims against the lawyer alleging that their defence of the claim on behalf of their client was malicious,” Travers Smith’s Ed Mills tells IEL.

“More commonly we see lawyers being on the receiving end of difficult communications, such as those which may be highly aggressive, abusive, or distressing. It is important to put in place measures both to minimise the risk, and to ensure that lawyers are properly supported if they do have a difficult experience.”

Firms may consider including resilience training and coaching on how to best handle difficult individuals. In some instances, it may be appropriate to remove a lawyer, temporarily or permanently, from a case to protect their wellbeing and any lawyer affected by a case should have access to confidential counselling.

Mills also recommends partners be the point of contact for all cases to mitigate the risk of junior lawyers being targeted with abusive communications. Meanwhile, young lawyers may want to ensure their social media accounts are set to private in order to avoid being tagged in third-party posts. 

“Social media is regularly monitored by our PR/Communications team to check for references to the firm, and we can request that they check for individual lawyer names too if we have concerns, and then we ensure we see any problematic posts as early as possible and assess how they should be dealt with,” explains Mills. 

“If an individual has been sending offensive emails to Travers Smith’s lawyers or other staff, or the firm is concerned that there is a risk of this, it works with its IT team in relation to blocking or filtering emails as appropriate,” he adds.  

“Where a claimant threatens to report any of our lawyers to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, we always inform our risk and compliance team so they are prepared and ready to respond if there is a complaint.

“We have also, on occasion, notified the Employment Tribunal where an individual claimant has been abusive or threatening, or has made unfounded allegations against lawyers defending the claim, as this may be relevant to their credibility and potentially also to any costs application,” Mills continues. 

“Ultimately, if a claimant persistently brings unfounded claims against employers, they can in exceptional cases be barred as a vexatious litigant, meaning that they cannot bring any future claims without the prior permission of the employment tribunal.”

Crucially, the Law Society’s August survey found that 19% of solicitors who reported threats from current or former clients said no action was taken by their employers. Some 45% of those who experienced threats said they took no personal safety measures, suggesting gaps in awareness and support. 

“Clearly where there are serious threats of violence, or stalking, the police should be involved,” Mills notes. “In that situation, firms would also need to consider other steps such as making security staff aware/increasing security, or remote working for the lawyer concerned.”

 If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, contact LawCare or Samaritans.