Research: Poor lawyer wellbeing costing big law firms £65 million a year

Staff working with mental health struggles

Poor wellbeing among lawyers and staff is costing big law firms an average of £65 million per year, largely due to employees repeatedly working while unwell.

New research shows that the leading cause of poor mental health is stress (44%), which, in turn, negatively impacts job performance. Forty-three percent of respondents cited a lack of fulfilment, while 37% pointed to insufficient support from their firm.

Findings from the wellbeing platform Unmind reveal that poor lawyer wellbeing has a direct financial impact on firms.

The findings suggest that large law firms with around 2,400 employees lost an average of £65 million annually, while medium-sized firms with about 1,400 employees lost £34 million. Smaller firms, with approximately 600 employees, faced average losses of £6.8 million each year.

A significant portion of mental health-related loss per employee (69%) was attributed to presenteeism — employees being physically present but not fully functioning due to poor wellbeing. Other sources of loss cited in the report include employee turnover and absenteeism.

The research, based on responses from 4,400 legal professionals across mid-size large law firms in the UK and the US, indicates that partners are less likely to experience mental health challenges than associates. Only 32% of associates reported that people openly discuss mental health and wellbeing in their firms, compared to 43% of partners.

The report makes several recommendations to improve wellbeing among lawyers and staff, including incorporating mental health as a mandatory component of leadership development, implementing targeted wellbeing initiatives, and offering accessible, one-to-one coaching and mental health support that extends beyond traditional employee assistance programmes.

Unmind chief executive Dr Nick Taylor said:

“Despite increased wellbeing investment, issues like absenteeism, burnout, and attrition are still rising in the legal sector Within this study, we show how these challenges impact both individuals and organisations, with law firms seeing significant financial impact.”

He continued: “The findings are clear: box-ticking approaches to wellbeing aren’t enough, and solely placing the responsibility on employees to manage their mental health is neither sustainable nor effective. Successful, lasting change requires initiatives that reach every organisational level, starting with senior leadership. This is especially important in law firms, as employees perceive a lower commitment to wellbeing from senior leaders compared to other sectors.”