The charity received 964 calls, webchats, and emails to their support service in 2020. The most common problems cited were stress (23 per cent), anxiety (15 per cent), bullying (10 per cent), depression (10 per cent) and worries about career development (10 per cent).

The number of people contacting LawCare experiencing anxiety has seen the biggest increase, from 45 people in 2019 to 111 last year.

The majority of those who contacted the support service were women (69 per cent). Half were trainees/pupils, or had been qualified less than five years, and a further six per cent were law students.

From March 2020, around a third (34 per cent) of all calls, emails and webchats to the LawCare support service had a Covid element.

Of these, the most common issues reported were worsening of existing mental health issues (13 per cent), not being permitted to work from home (12 per cent), struggling to adapt to WFH due to poor supervision, procedures, or provision of equipment (11 per cent), feeling isolated (11 per cent) and being overloaded with work, typically because colleagues had been furloughed (nine per cent).

There were also practical issues related to childcare, relationship strain, redundancy or inability to find a job (including job offers made before Covid being withdrawn) and financial concerns. LawCare also heard from legal professionals being asked to work while furloughed.

Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO of LawCare, said: “Our support service continues to grow and help more people year on year. 2020 was a challenging year for most, we are not surprised that anxiety increased at a time of great worry and uncertainty.

“In addition our website traffic increased by 50 per cent and we allocated more peer supporters and funded more counselling sessions last year than ever before. We expect demand to continue to grow in 2021 as legal professionals continue to navigate the challenges presented by Covid-19.”

Anyone working in the legal industry including support staff can contact LawCare for free, confidential, emotional support on 0800 279 6888, email support@lawcare.org.uk or visit www.lawcare.org.uk.