I am a solicitor who suffers stress and persistent anxiety, how can I survive without risking my job?

This article examines the relationship between solicitors’ ethical obligations and anxiety. The responsibility of identifying and resolving ethical issues in accord with the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015 (Conduct Rules), can be a source of stress in legal practice, especially considering that solicitors are duly aware of how important it is to follow the law and of just how complex the law can sometimes be. At the same time, a sound understanding and application of the Conduct Rules can help solicitors navigate ethical issues with confidence and reduce persistent stress and anxiety.

One of the trademark qualities of anxiety is that it arises from an unidentifiable trigger. While stress is able to be traced back to one or more specific sources, anxiety is more of a blanket feeling that will influence our daily physical, mental, and emotional health. Ethical concerns have a close relationship with both stress and anxiety: if there is one particular ethical conundrum about which a solicitor feels uncertain, they will often become stressed about that particular dilemma and the potential consequences that may arise if they get it wrong. However, a solicitor may also find themselves feeling constantly on edge about the broader concept of their ethical responsibilities, even to the point of regularly lying awake at night and imagining potential ethical failings that have not yet occurred. This is a phenomenon that we often see arise after a highly publicised cautionary tale of unethical practitioner conduct, or even following significant changes in regulatory compliance.

There is a close relationship between the mental strain that such situations generate and the subsequent difficulty solicitors may encounter in daily practice, especially if their confidence and self-assuredness have been shaken.

This dichotomy often creates several downstream issues. Constant worry about ethical issues and how to resolve the problems that arise will diminish the well-being of the overworked solicitor, which in turn may bring concerns about the solicitor’s fitness, and propriety to practice law. Additionally, high levels of stress and anxiety have a negative impact on decision making ability, meaning that dilemmas that do arise may be experienced as more difficult to navigate by a solicitor whose mental health is already under significant strain. Eventually, the solicitor may find themselves in an unwanted spiral of stress, exhaustion, and an increasingly insurmountable workload.

One of the most common mistakes made in such circumstances is to fall victim to the belief that “ignorance is bliss.” Much like a university student not wanting to check their student loan balance, it’s easy to think that your stress will only be increased by learning more about your ethical obligations. This is simply not true; both your ability to be a competent and diligent solicitor and your ability to manage your related stress will be best helped by equipping yourself with more knowledge and familiarity with your duties, not less.

The Conduct Rules to which all solicitors must adhere must be seen in the context of not only required discipline, but also as a boon which helps and protects the solicitor, by providing guidance on how to conduct legal practice and fulfil the obligations that each solicitor must discharge.

The Conduct Rules provide a framework for dealing with ethical problems and offer hope to the stressed solicitor of how a situation may be appraised and a problem remedied. The truism of “ …the ethical lawyer is the most trusted lawyer …” may be expanded to say that “…the most ethical lawyer is also the most trouble free and least stressed lawyer…”

When reviewing these professional obligations, it should be noted that there is a fundamental duty on a solicitor to:

• “……be honest and courteous in all dealings in the course of legal practice…

and deliver legal services competently, diligently and as promptly as reasonably possible…”¹;

• observe the professional standards required and ensure that you must “…..avoid any compromise to their integrity and professional independence…²

Any solicitor suffering from stress or anxiety may find that the best way to survive in practice is by adhering to their ethical conduct rules, including keeping oneself fit and proper by way of intentionally investing into mental health, well-being, and the foundational skills of every good solicitor.

These obligations are met much more easily by solicitors who are proactive in managing not just their ethical responsibilities but also their personal well-being and stress levels.

The Ethics team of the Professional Support Unit can assist and guide solicitors in meeting their ethical responsibilities. You can contact the Ethics team of the Professional Support Unit (PSU) at the Law Society of NSW on (02) 9926 0114 or by email at ethics@lawsociety.com.au. However, solicitors might also wonder whether there is any support from the Law Society to help a solicitor with their personal well-being? The answer is, Yes! The Law Society has a number of tailored resources that assist the care and well-being of solicitors, including three free and confidential sessions with a registered psychologist each financial year, myriad workshops and webinars that provide practical strategies for safe and sustainable legal practice, and mentoring programs, designed to assist in professional confidence, and solicitor mentoring services.  These services are designed to support solicitors at every stage of their career – not just during times of crisis.  A list of these services and resources is available at the Law Society’s Growth and Wellbeing Hub.

Keep an eye out in the next ESQ edition for an article on the impact of diminished well-being on solicitors’ abilities to fulfil their fiduciary duties to their clients.

Paul Monaghan is a Senior Ethics Solicitor in the Ethics team of the Professional Support Unit of the Law Society of NSW.

Anna Fischer is the Growth and Wellbeing Manager at the Law Society of NSW.

¹ Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015, r 4.1.2 and 4.1.

² Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015, r 4.1.4