US law firm Latham & Watkins has appointed two mental health advisers to its UK staff amid fears of burnout among young lawyers across the industry.
The California-based firm introduced the two advisers to UK staff in early 2022, following a record year for global mergers and acquisitions that saw long hours for transactional and finance lawyers across the city.
Latham had previously offered services such as advice and training to its staff through a 24/7 third-party provider.
However, in January the firm also introduced two advisers who can be hired directly by UK staff for phone or video sessions, a person close to the firm said.
READ Seven out of 10 legal professionals suffered from mental health problems in the last year
“From the intranet I can go in and book a 20-30 minute time slot and go chat with them. It can be about career development, work-life balance, pretty much anything,” said a Latham London solicitor.
“In the past, to get that support from the company, you had to call the outside vendor or go to Human Resources and people might have been worried about doing that,” they added.
Latham’s new initiative is the latest sign that the city’s legal industry is seeking to support staff in the face of long hours and concerns about mental health and work-life balance.
Last month, a candidate for the position of managing partner of Clifford Chance in London proposed a position of director of happiness to help drive wellness and belonging in the company.
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“We need more magic dust in this Magic Circle,” tech partner Jonathan Kewley wrote in his manifesto, legal site roll on friday informed.
In a survey of 1,700 legal professionals between October 2020 and January 2021, the mental health legal helpline Law Care found seven out of 10 suffered from mental health problems in the previous 12 months.
“The legal profession is stressed, tired, anxious, at high risk of burnout,” said Elizabeth Rimmer, executive director of Law Care.
The banking industry is also trying to tackle the problem of overworked junior staff with similar initiatives.
Boutique PJT Partners is trying an on-site therapist in london as part of a series of initiatives aimed at the well-being of employees.
Citi investment bank is launch of a hub in the city of Malaga, in southern Spain as it aims to improve retention rates among junior staff.
The hours of its 30 new junior employees will be strictly capped, though they will take home about half the $100,000 starting salaries of their peers in London or New York.
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