Mind’s Time to Talk Day provides an ideal opportunity to discuss mental health in the legal profession. To support this conversation, we spoke with two legal professionals who are trained Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) and work directly with legal AI to assist lawyers in serving clients.
Andy Hitchon, head of the leading estate planning legal practice management software LEAP Estates, and Katie Phillips, head of Family Law at LEAP Legal Software, took a moment to discuss the importance of mental health for lawyers’ wellbeing and how new approaches to leadership and legal technology can positively impact it.
The conversation centred on a shared concern: while the profession has become more open about discussing mental health, many of the underlying causes of stress remain firmly embedded in day-to-day legal work. Long hours, relentless deadlines and administrative overload continue to place significant strain on lawyers at all levels. Demands and expectations from clients increase, and there is an inability to leave “work” at work when dealing with highly emotive legal issues.
Key takeaways
One of the key takeaways was the deep need within the profession to keep a close eye on the team’s wellbeing, paying particular attention to early signs of burnout, and fostering a culture of communication.
Hitchon reflected on how often wellbeing issues are closely linked to workload and working practices rather than individual resilience: “Lawyers are known for working long hours in order to get the job done. High expectations for speed, availability and sensitivity on fees on what are often sadly emotionally charged matters can all negatively impact the wellbeing”.
Phillips agreed that “leadership has a responsibility to look beyond surface-level wellbeing initiatives to actually understand how staff are coping”. As a former partner in a law firm, she has been vocal about the impact that sustained pressure can have on solicitors’ mental health and the need for firms to create environments where people can thrive, not just cope. “We often deal with people going through the most stressful experiences, such as a divorce, a parent’s death or a house move, that stress is undoubtedly passed to the lawyer, who is instructed to help the individual. Often, lawyers deal with 60-80 matters at a time, all emotionally charged, and those emotions can’t always be left at work. However, fostering a good and supportive working environment ensures people do not face these pressures alone”.
Against this backdrop, Mind’s Time to Talk Day is not just a symbolic moment, but an opportunity for the profession to ask harder questions about how lawyers’ wellbeing is supported in practice, whether through compassionate leadership or the implementation of legal technology and AI.
Lawyer wellbeing in the modern law firm
According to the Life in the Law 2025 survey published by LawCare, of the 1,541 legal professionals interviewed, 64.3% reported experiencing mental health challenges, such as anxiety, low mood and depression. These are indeed some of the more widely recognised signs of mental health issues within legal practice, driven by rising billable hour targets, administrative overload, and the demand for constant availability, particularly for emotionally charged matters.
While wellbeing initiatives have become more visible – from first aiders being put in place in most law firms to employee assistance programmes – Time to Talk Day challenges organisations to go further and implement tangible changes to working practices to lead to lasting improvement.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers must ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees, including mental health. Similarly, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require risk assessments that consider work-related stress, while the Equality Act 2010 recognises that mental health conditions may constitute a disability that requires reasonable adjustments.
The role of MHFAs
Against this legal backdrop, the role of trained mental health first aiders has gained prominence as a best-practice measure within professional services firms.
As MHFAs, Hitchon and Phillips both stress the importance of the role being an initial support and signposting guide within legal practice. Changes in behaviour, mood and performance, avoiding conversations, anxiety and stress can all be signs of mental health issues, and it is important to approach such issues sensitively and without judgement. Underlying pressures of the legal role may not change, but the way they are dealt with can.
But, in the modern legal landscape, employees are becoming increasingly familiar with the level of support that is deemed acceptable for mental wellbeing, triggering in law firms a necessity to go above and beyond, and ensure their leadership and management style can keep up with the cultural change too.
Firm leadership and guidance
When comparing the Life in the Law 2025 survey published by LawCare, to its previous edition, Life in the Law 2020/21published by LawCare, we can notice a steep increase in the number of individuals who felt comfortable talking about their mental health within their firm. The 2020/21 report surveyed 1,700 individuals working in law firms, finding that 69% reported experiencing mental ill-health from work, with only 56.5% being able to speak about it at work. Fast forward just four years, and that figure changed from half the respondents to 75.9% in 2025 being able to speak about it at work.
As the fear of stigma and career impact remains the biggest challenge for legal professionals to vocalise their concerns, leadership engagement is critical in keeping that momentum going and changing attitudes around mental health in law. When senior figures speak openly about wellbeing, it signals that these conversations are legitimate and not career-limiting.
Legal AI and technology
Whilst industry-wide conversation and supportive leadership can help break the stigma and kickstart conversations on wellbeing in the legal profession, legal AI and technology can transform the delivery of legal work.
As Hitchon points out, “for many lawyers, stress is caused by volume, pace, and administrative burden – think endless document review, manual data entry, and fragmented systems. This is where legal technology, and AI in particular, has the potential to make a tangible difference, helping legal teams reduce the hours spent on repetitive tasks, lower the risk of chronic overwork, and reduce cognitive overload”.
Legal AI can automate routine mandatory tasks. For instance, AI-assisted drafting tools can produce first versions of routine documents in minutes rather than hours. Intelligent search and review tools can surface relevant information faster, reducing the strain of deadline-driven document analysis. Workflow automation can minimise context switching and administrative clutter.
Phillips says, “We have all had instances where we open our inbox to find multiple emails from a client. The need to read and respond urgently can create significant pressure. AI tools can read those emails, summarise the key points and the necessary next steps, to help lawyers focus on the real issues”.
Considerations on legal AI
But legal AI is not a silver bullet. Poorly implemented technology can increase frustration rather than reduce it, and unrealistic expectations around efficiency can exacerbate pressure if firms raise targets in response to time savings. Crucially, in Phillips’ words, “AI automation should not be about replacing lawyers but reducing friction in legal workflows that have historically relied on human effort. Lawyers who are less exhausted and less rushed are likely to be better positioned to provide thoughtful, attentive advice to clients”.
This is why leadership matters. If AI is deployed purely to extract more billable hours, its wellbeing benefits will be limited. If it is used to create more sustainable workloads, clearer boundaries and smarter resourcing, it can support firm success and employee wellbeing and retention.
Talking is the start, action is the test
Time to Talk Day is, at its core, about conversation. In the legal profession, it is about encouraging individuals to speak openly about mental health, to listen without judgment and to support one another.
But, according to Hitchon, “conversation must lead to action, investing in mental health training and first aiders, modelling healthy behaviours from the top, and addressing the structural drivers of stress within legal work”.
Increasingly, it also means embracing technology in ways that support people, not just profit.
On this Time to Talk Day, the question for law firms is not just whether they are talking about mental health, but whether they are willing to change the systems that shape it.
For Hitchon and Phillips, the message is clear. Talking about mental health is essential, but meaningful progress will depend on how firms redesign leadership and processes. Legal AI has the potential to be an enabler of healthier, more sustainable legal work, as long as lawyers’ wellbeing is treated as a core objective and not an afterthought.
About the author
With 10 years of experience in the communications industry, Dani Pisciottano is the Vertical Marketing Lead at LEAP Legal Software, responsible for shaping and delivering marketing strategies across key areas of law, including criminal, family, estates and personal injury.
