England: Young lawyers are under too much pressure

More than 53 per cent of junior lawyers reported that in the last month they almost made a significant error as a result of being under extreme pressure, The Brief reports.

Research produced by the Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society found that 37 per cent of young lawyers admitted making mistakes as a result of pressure.

The vast majority, 80 per cent, claimed stress was damaging their mental and emotional health.

Just under half blamed partners at their law firms, with 49.5 citing “ineffective management” as a cause of stress in the workplace.

High workloads, however, were reported as the main culprit.

Nearly 65 per cent said overwork was affecting their mental health.

Following on from high workloads and poor management, young male lawyers were most likely to attribute their stress to a feeling that they lacked control over their careers while young women cited unreasonable client expectations.

Forty-five per cent blamed work for problems in their personal lives.