S Matthew Fawcett, general counsel with NetApp. Photo: Jason Doiy

Several general counsel and other in-house leaders are pushing back on attorneys' allegations that corporate law departments may play a larger role in the industry's mental health crisis than they may be willing to admit or even examine.

The response follows the most recent piece in Law.com's "Minds Over Matters" yearlong series: an article titled "Constantly on Call" that states that "client demands for fast turnaround times, even on non-urgent matters, can leave outside counsel in constant crisis mode" and that "many lawyers said legal department leaders often don't think about the impact they're having on outside counsel's mental health, or they don't care—clients pay a high rate for quick responses on all matters."

The rebuttal was prompted by NetApp Inc. GC Matt Fawcett, who in a LinkedIn post Wednesday, said he "take[s] issue" with the "labeling" of  in-house counsel as a reason for the high levels of addiction, depression and suicide that have plagued all sectors of the legal industry in recent years.

"To me, the major stressors inside law firms are willfully self-imposed," wrote Fawcett, one of the more outspoken voices, particularly in the in-house arena, in the discussion. "The desire for ever-increasing profits per partner is created by firms, not clients. Firms grow their profits by working their people extra hard, and their refusal to say 'no' to understaffed assignments is a decision. Wellness is rightfully a huge concern now, but where is the responsible mindset on this?"

By Thursday afternoon, Fawcett's post had received 100 "likes" and more than two dozen comments on the social networking site. In an email to Law.com, Fawcett declined to comment further on the post, saying that he doubted he had anything new to say on the topic.

Although outside lawyers were among those who liked Fawcett's comments, many Am Law 100 firm leaders who have been otherwise enthusiastic about openly discussing how they are addressing lawyer mental health issues were skittish about weighing in on a subject where they could risk alienating clients. A spokesperson for one firm, an inaugural signer of the American Bar Association's well-being pledge, appeared eager to have a leader speak about the matter, until learning that no peers wanted to go on the record.

In his post, Fawcett emphasized the importance of open communication between GCs and their outside counsel.

"In my years as a GC, I have never had a law firm call and say, 'Can we talk about adjusting your expectations?' and if that ever happened, I would say, 'yes,'" he wrote. "I believe most GCs want our expensive outside counsel to serve us well, including being honest about load balance and staffing, so we don't unwittingly become the victims of punitive billing. Don't label clients as the source of the problem."

Other in-house leaders agreed, even highlighting the positive relationships they continue to have with lawyers who have been honest about their personal needs.

"One of our outside counsel really saw us through a tough time, and she wanted to take a sabbatical, of which I was very supportive," wrote Ruby Zefo, chief privacy officer at Uber. "During that time she wanted to know if I would mind if she extended it even longer. I said absolutely. We'd survive, and she deserved it. And she's still very much on our payroll now that she's back."

In addition to a need for this open dialogue and collaboration between outside and inside lawyers is the issue of how law firms are allocating their resources, Doug Luftman, vice president, GC and secretary at Nomis Solutions, said in an interview.

"Are law firms training their lawyers about mental health, project management and other critical skill sets that lawyers may not be very good at coming out of law school?" said Luftman, who liked Fawcett's post. "Are they managing their work in a way that doesn't overwhelm people?"

Peter Nguyen, GC and corporate secretary at Canadian company Resolver Inc., said that laying the blame wholly at the feet of clients is "aggressive," particularly since many in-house leaders come from big law backgrounds and thus are sensitive to the demands of working in that environment.

"I try to go out of my way to not overburden my external counsel with demands," Nguyen, who also liked Fawcett's post, said in an interview. "We've been on the other side. We know what it's like to get that Friday afternoon call."

Read more: Minds Over Matters: An Examination into Mental Health in the Legal Profession

Reporter Dan Packel contributed to this report.