More lawyers report billable-hour pressures affect their mental health, survey finds
Billable-hour pressures are negatively affecting mental well-being, according to 65.5% of lawyers and staff members surveyed by ALM and Law.com Compass. (Illustration from Shutterstock)
Billable-hour pressures are negatively affecting mental well-being, according to 65.5% of lawyers and staff members surveyed by ALM and Law.com Compass.
The percentage is nearly four percentage points higher than reported in 2024 and is one of the few areas in which mental health declined in the survey, when compared to last year, Law.com reports. The results are reported in an infographic here.
The pressures are increasing because of hourly rate increases, lawyers commented in open-ended responses to the survey. Some top law firms have sought rate increases of 10% in each of the past few years, Law.com reports.
“In a sense we know exactly what we sign up for when we join BigLaw, but to experience it year in and year out is emotionally and physically draining,” wrote one partner at a large firm. “And firms that continue to raise billable rates to absurd levels are making it worse because our clients tend to feel like they can demand more than is humanly possible from us because we charge them so much for our time.”
On the positive side, fewer lawyers and staff members reported other mental health issues compared to last year. The specifics:
• About 73% said their work environment contributed to mental health issues over time, a decrease of six percentage points.
• 43% said mental health issues and substance abuse were at a crisis level in the profession, a decrease of six percentage points.
• 56.3% said that always being on call had a negative impact on well-being, a decrease of eight percentage points.
• 33% reported depression, a decrease of three percentage points.
• 68.7% reported anxiety, a slight decrease.
It’s not just the legal environment that is affecting lawyers and staff members. Asked which of several issues affected their mental health, these choices got the highest responses:
• Political polarization (identified by 70.1%)
• Economic uncertainty (69.3%)
• Geopolitical world stability (68.1%)
The results are based on responses from more than 3,100 lawyers and staffers at mostly BigLaw firms, although firms of all sizes were represented in the survey.
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