‘Law is self-selecting, with very driven, ambitious people. Because it is so competitive, the whole system drives you to have a fear of failure, which is just not normal,’ says Richard Harris, chief legal officer at recruitment company Robert Walters.
Stress, high workloads and pressure are generally viewed as part and parcel of a career in commercial law. But while there has been increased awareness of how damaging these aspects of the role can be, attention has often focused on private practice, where demanding clients and high-pressure environments gave rise to the industry’s infamous culture of ‘all-nighters’.
But in-house lawyers say these pressures are just as present outside private practice.
For this article, Legal Business spoke to a host of in-house lawyers for Mental Health Awareness Week – and all pointed out the unique challenges that come with the in-house role.
In particular, they point to the difficulty of reconciling the inability to switch off that comes with being close to the business with a simultaneous feeling of isolation from it.
Michaela Berryman (pictured), head of legal for finance and strategic projects at insurer Howden Group Holdings, explains: ‘It’s the weight of being the person who is expected to have the answer, often on things that are just judgement calls, and there isn’t actually a clean answer. It’s a really distinct kind of isolation.’
She continues: ‘The kinds of mental health challenges that I’ve seen come up in in-house roles are your usual stress and burnout, but they’re compounded by that feeling of isolation.’
Matthew Wilson, chief legal officer at media production company Fremantle agrees.
‘Being a general counsel can be lonely. It can mean a tension between your role as a lawyer and a senior member of the business. GCs are increasingly looked at as business leaders in their own right, taking on broader responsibilities outside of legal. That can cause conflict between the different hats that you wear, and that is inherently stressful.’
Sleepless nights
‘I found myself burning out at times, having sleepless nights in terms of worrying about decisions that you’ve advised on, and worrying about what’s going to happen if things go wrong,’ admits Kulpash Patel (pictured), assistant GC for Europe at tobacco company Philip Morris International.
Reflecting on why this is, he suggests: ‘As lawyers, we are trained and conditioned to think about what could go wrong. We’re not trained or conditioned to think about what could go right! Very rarely do you ever hear a lawyer say, “this could be amazing, let’s go for it!” But we should!’
Ocado Group deputy GC Neil Laventure reiterates this point: ‘As lawyers, we tend to be overachievers. We tend to worry about getting things right, getting things done well and being responsive, perhaps more than other professions. So, I think we’re naturally predisposed to having issues.’
On the differences between private practice and in-house, Harris explains that while some historically perceived moving in-house as an easy option, times have changed.
‘It was very much seen as a lifestyle choice,’ he says. ‘I don’t think it was true then, and it’s definitely not true now. The demands on us as in-house lawyers are just slightly different from private practice.’
As evidence, he points to a previous in-house role when he was working on a transaction for the company. After working consistently long hours and coming home at midnight every night, he realised the stress had become too much when he was on holiday and found himself unable to connect to the Wi-Fi to read an important email.
‘I was so worried about it – I started to feel sick that I couldn’t get my work done, even though I was on holiday. I thought: “What the hell am I doing? This isn’t making me happy. This is incredibly stressful”.’
Lisa Ardley-Price, managing legal counsel at NatWest, agrees that it is important to find a role that allows balance. ‘When I was in private practice, there was an ‘always on’ mentality. But that doesn’t mean all the pressures of working as a lawyer go away when you move in-house. In-house is not a magic bullet. It comes with a very different way of working.’
She continues: ‘When I was working in private practice, I might be working on a couple of different transactions and I would be fully immersed in those. In-house is more of a daily juggling act – you have to be very agile in how you respond to different priorities.’
Boiling frogs
‘It’s like a boiling frog. You don’t realise what you’re doing to yourself. I know what it’s like to be that close to burnout, even if you don’t recognise it at the time,’ says Harris.
Like many of those spoken to for this feature, Harris was only able to identify the feeling of burnout in hindsight.
‘Sometimes you don’t realise that you’re on a downward slope until you crash and burn,’ says Patel. ‘At that point, you think: “maybe I should do something about this”. We need to seek help before that happens.’
On why this is an all-too-common experience for in-house counsel, Ardley-Price (pictured) explains: ‘I love being part of the client, rather than a service provider. But that can mean that at times it can be challenging to separate yourself from what’s happening internally, and it can be harder to say no.’
She continues: ‘You have to have a clear understanding of your capacity and priorities and set clear boundaries in that respect. Otherwise, there is a risk that you say yes to too much, and you stretch yourself too thin.’
Building resilience
Laventure agrees that getting the right balance is difficult, particularly when times are busy. ‘I now know how to set my boundaries – I have ways of decompressing and switching off.’
He adds that experience is also a huge factor in being able to protect his wellbeing in times of stress, explaining that it comes with experience. ‘When you think something’s a disaster, it tends not to be.’
Wilson agrees: ‘You build a certain resilience over time. As a result, you’re surprised less often. That sinking feeling in your stomach when something unexpected happens – I have that less often now than I did 10 years ago.’
Others say that asking for help has been transformative for their wellbeing at work.
Berryman explains that asking for help in times of stress has been both a professional and personal decision.
‘I’ve had periods where the demands of the role and life outside that role stacked up all at the same time. Asking for help was one of the most important professional decisions I’ve ever made.’
She continues: ‘We as leaders need to be cognisant that resilience is not infinite, and it isn’t the answer to a role or a culture that might be structurally or culturally harmful. The bravest thing I’ve seen senior lawyers do is leave, when leaving was the right call.’
Recognising the signs
With regards to the relationship between private practice and in-house, Ardley-Price explains: ‘Things are never going to change in terms of the private practice culture of high pressure and work hours unless client expectations and demands also change.’
She continues: ‘We need to ensure we’re being considerate of what we’re asking of our private practice lawyers; that we’re setting realistic deadlines and not putting people under unrealistic timescales or pressures.’
While attitudes and conversations around mental health in the workplace have evolved, all of those spoken to for this article say that there is still work to be done.
‘It’s gone from being small, one-to-one conversations, to being bigger, more open conversations – among teams, organisations and the industry, which I think has led to more supportive environments,’ says Wilson (pictured).
New initiatives, such as the GC Wellbeing Network, are providing alternative avenues for in-house counsel to address the unique issues that they face in their roles.
The network, which was founded in 2024, hosts a number of closed-door workshops throughout the year for senior in-house counsel to share their experiences and find tools and mechanisms to work through them. Earlier this month, it was recognised with the award for the Mental Health & Wellbeing Initiative of the Year at the Legal 500 UK ESG Awards.
Speaking with Legal Business last month, founder Steven MacGregor explained the need for a dedicated space for senior in-house lawyers to decompress and discuss the stresses of the job among peers.
‘What we try to create when we have the workshops is that we close the door, and there’s no photographs and no recording. You see the shoulders coming down, people can breathe, and it’s that safe space that they can share with their peers and learn about being a more effective leader.’
For Patel, being an advocate for mental health issues within his organisation and breaking the stigma around discussing this openly has been important in creating a safe culture for his team.
‘As I’ve moved into more senior roles, one of the things I’ve tried to do is to talk openly about mental health and try to raise awareness. Talking about it with more junior members of staff creates a safer environment, and reminds everyone that we are all human.’
On his own coping mechanisms, he notes the importance of learning to recognise ‘the signs and triggers’ and then acting on it.
‘Reaching out to someone you feel comfortable with and talking to them in a safe environment can help so much.’
