Stress IMPACT on Corporate Counsels and the Legal Profession January 2025
By Geeta Thakerar, Co Convenor of SCCA Wellbeing Chapter
3rd February 2025
Firstly, let me wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year! Welcome the Year of the Snake!
Now, I want to focus on stress for corporate counsels and the legal profession.
This is indeed a bit of a double-edged sword. Typical traits of lawyers may be the cause of more stress than other professions. So why are lawyers more prone to stressful situations? In this blog, I seek to highlight a few common issues.
Firstly, the strive for perfectionism may translate to workaholism and a cause of stress.
Secondly, the legal profession by nature is driven by rules, order, logical thought, objective analysis, and a close attention to detail. This is one of several reasons why stress is very much prevalent within the legal profession.
Thirdly, the nature of high stakes decision making, particularly for corporate counsels, can be overwhelming. This is particularly so given potential financial and legal implications for the company.
Fourthly, having to constantly be available round the clock, juggle multiple tasks across multiple different matters and priorities, and aligning the advice with company goals and objectives, can often be daunting.
Fifthly, needing to navigate diplomatically across differing expectations of the company leadership team, managing multiple conflicts including, when legal and business interests are not aligned, can often take an emotional toll.
Sixthly, it is often difficult to remain clinical and detached from client/company problems. One is expected to miraculously solve all the problems. Corporate counsels sometimes struggle, typically getting easily absorbed into client/company myriad problems. Having to manage ugly complex and often unpleasant toxic issues which typically are hard to solve or resolve.
Seventhly, the adversarial legal system requires many lawyers to adopt a pessimistic view of the world. Within this environment, it is realistic for lawyers at times to suspect ulterior motives, manipulation and remain sceptical. Within such an adversarial environment thinking this way is normalised and is nothing more than defensive competence.
Eighthly, a vast majority of the issues are around injustices, anti- social behaviours, conflicts and disputes, disagreements, managing tight deadlines and often unrealistic expectations, multi-jurisdictional and multi-cultural differences.
Ninthly, there is also the matter of managing lengthy documentation, multiple third parties including the courts, regulators, geopolitical minefields. There is typically the backdrop of shifting legal landscapes, unclear legal systems, how things are interpreted and executed often within unpredictable, corrupt, dysfunctional systems and processes. The potential for uncertainty and scope for different interpretations is often both a norm and a constant.
Stress can be positive as well as negative. It can act as a propeller and a motivator for success. However, it may negatively impact physical and mental health. Chronic stress may not only damage corporate counsels, but also their families and their ability to serve their clients effectively.
As a corporate counsel and employee, one is very much front and centre for the company and be required to balance and calm the situation amid the storm. Corporate counsels often remain in a crisis or semi crisis mode for prolonged periods of time. As part of the operations of the company, and within the management teams, corporate counsels are expected to be strong and resilient throughout the episode. This is generally different from the role of outside counsel, who advise and guide but often do not see how matters are executed and implemented within the company. This responsibility resides with the in-house counsel.
John Hopkins University’s study of professions has looked at 104 occupations as part of an overall survey. The survey found that lawyers have the highest incidence or occurrence of depression, The danger is clear, because ignoring stress and its impact on mental health and wellbeing is a perilous venture.
There is also the additional complexity at play with individual personal circumstances, such as a working parent providing another minefield from a stress perspective.
If you are interested and wish to learn more or join in to have a conversation, please join SCCA WellFest, Wellbeing Chapter’s Wellbeing Wednesdays Series on 12th February 2025.
To register click here.