Given its long hours and demanding work, practicing law can be a breeding ground for mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and stress.

In response, a number of lawyers and legal tech vendors are launching apps and mental health resources to address these issues head-on. While not all these tools specifically target lawyers, they provide a 24/7 source of mental health assistance for busy attorneys—at their fingertips.

"Law firms are not set up to be bastions of emotional support; they are set up to perform high-quality legal work around the clock," said Jeremy Fischbach, a former Big Law lawyer who now works at virtual legal service provider InCloudCounsel. He added, "The American law firm for a lot of people is a source of isolation because you are working 80 hours a week, you are not spending a lot of time with the people you care about the most."

To help with the work-related stress, Fischbach launched an app called Happy, which is aimed at connecting those who need to talk to someone supportive.

"I created Happy because for me personally and for a lot of lawyers I know, traditional sources of support, including my primary network of family and friends and secondary traditional offerings [like] psychotherapy, weren't working," he said.

The Happy app allows a user to select a topic they want to discuss, including relationships, work/career, finances and parenting, and anonymously talk to a "trained listener" about those matters.

To be sure, the pressures of the legal industry are evident to those who work beside lawyers, such as legal tech vendors. Shimmy Messing, who served as chief technology officer for e-discovery platform Advanced Discovery before it was acquired by Consilio, spent 15 years improving the workflow of legal software platforms and saw firsthand the pressure of lawyers' job.

The nCourage app is Messing's latest creation for improving attorney workflow. But instead of managing data, nCourage aims to provide general users with techniques to better channel their stress and anxiety "for positive workflow for your day-to-day life," he said.

On a smartphone, an nCourage user selects an issue he or she wants to improve, either anxiety/stress, falling asleep, personal growth or work/productivity. Next, he or she will read modules created by Dr. Dan Lerner that offer tips to understanding and managing his or her challenge.

While Messing and Fischbach's apps address anxiety and stress, their target audience isn't just lawyers or those working in the legal industry. Which isn't to say that lawyer-specific mental help resources don't exist. 

In 2018, for instance, the American Bar Association released the 99-page "Well-Being Toolkit for Lawyers and Legal Employers" document that included an eight-step action plan for legal employers, guidance for evaluating what supports and harms well-being and other information.

"We chose the toolkit as a project because, after the National Task Force report ["The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change"] was issued [in 2017], many law firms and other legal employers were interested in getting involved but were asking for more information about how to get started," wrote the toolkit's writer Anne Brafford in an email. "The toolkit was designed to address that need."

Meanwhile, some law firms are also taking the initiative to address mental health issues and stigma by making technological well-being assistance available in addition to in-person services. For instance, Kirkland & Ellis, which hired lawyer-turned-therapist Robin Belleau to lead its wellness effort last month, announced internally on Monday the launch of two apps to encourage managing stress and balancing work-life demands.

App Whil offers "in-the-moment and goal-based programs" to help reduce stress, improve sleep and enhance productivity, according to an email from the firm. Meanwhile WorkIt allows users to access a personalized set of clinically based education programs and one-on-one support from coaches to manage behaviors before they lead to addiction, the firm said.

"The apps are an important aspect of our comprehensive approach to well-being," wrote a Kirkland & Ellis representative in an emailed statement. "They are flexible and accessible, which was especially important for our lawyers. They give users an abundance of information, resources and support around the clock, at their fingertips, whenever they have the time or desire to access it."