Calls to LawCare on the up overall
Advice helpline for lawyers LawCare has revealed its 2016 stats, and they show more men are reaching out for advice.
In 2015, 35% of calls made to LawCare were made by men. This rose to 38% in 2016, meaning a respective drop of three percentage points in female-made calls.
Phonecalls to the helpline, overall, are also on the up, rising by 12% between 2015 and 2016. The total number of calls for last year therefore stands at 912, and callers at 555.
The subject matter of these calls has remained broadly the same. Thirty-eight percent are being made by people worried about stress. This is perhaps unsurprising, given the ‘billable hour’ culture pushed by law firms. Lawyers often report feeling under pressure to stay late at work; stats collected by Legal Cheek show that, at some firms, junior lawyers leave the office at 9pm on average.
Reason for call:
Depression was the next most common cause of complaint (12%), then career development (11%). Seven percent of callers wanted to talk about bullying, and 3% about alcohol problems.
Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO of the charity, said:
We continue to raise awareness about what we provide, and the value of our service, to all sectors of the legal community. We want to encourage people in the legal profession to talk about their mental health and wellbeing, so we can tackle the stigma associated with it, particularly in the workplace.
You can contact LawCare here.
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