For the first time, the number of people with career concerns equalled the number of legal professionals seeking help because of stress, also 22 per cent.

Elizabeth Rimmer, chief executive of LawCare, said: “The number of people who contacted us with career concerns now equals the number of people getting in touch about stress.

“This willingness to question their life in the law may be partly a response to the pandemic: legal professionals could be reflecting on what they want from life and work and be less willing to stay in careers or workplaces that don’t meet their needs and expectations and could be undermining their mental health.

“There were a wide range of career concerns raised, from struggles with training to becoming a lawyer to wanting to retire early. We are also hearing from people who don’t see law as a lifelong career. We anticipate that in 2023 the number of people contacting us with career concerns may grow as the tough economic climate takes its toll.”

Most of the people getting in touch with LawCare are at the beginning of their careers.

During 2022, 60 per cent of the people who contacted the charity for support and told it how long they had been qualified were trainees/pupils or had been qualified for less than five years.

This is very similar to last year’s figures and suggests that junior legal professionals are still not getting the emotional support they need in their workplace.

LawCare also saw a three per cent increase in the percentage of contacts from men, which reflected the impact of LawCare’s report and work during 2022 to encourage more men in law to seek support for their mental health.