Countless surveys have recorded that solicitors suffer high levels of stress.

In recent years the complaints may have remained the same, but traditionally, the common assumption has been that managing partners either do not care or are simply oblivious to the problems of their subordinates.

But it is not just individuals that are affected. Stress costs firms too.

Unhappy staff are unproductive and staff turnover rates can be as high as 25% per annum – one major firm is reputed to lose up to 40% of its staff each year.

Thankfully, firms are reviewing their attitudes. In December, the Young Solicitors' Group (YSG) held a well-attended seminar for managing partners to discuss the issue.

Furthermore, this week's Legal Week/Axxia Business Confidence Survey shows that managing partners are becoming aware of the pressure their staff are under.

The survey found that 35% of managing partners thought stress was a major problem for assistants, while an additional 57% conceded it was a minor problem.

Bill Knight of Simmons & Simmons is one managing partner whose eyes were opened after attending the YSG seminar.

The problem is growing," he admits.
"I am organising a series of sessions with the junior staff to discuss their concerns."

Chairman of the YSG Richard Moorhead said he was "heartened" that so many firms saw stress as a major problem.

But he cautioned: "I am worried that such a large proportion still see the problem as minor.

It is very clear to me that stress is a major problem and has a serious impact on almost every solicitor's life."

One of the topics under discussion at the seminar was a report commissioned by Bupa late last year, which showed that solicitors suffered higher levels of stress than junior doctors.

It found stress to be higher among younger solicitors with the main concerns being lack of control, inadequate supervision, the implications of mistakes and lack of respect.

"I think the attitude among partners is 'I had to go through it, so they can cope'," Moorhead says.

"But increasing technology and competition and ever-more demanding clients mean that the pressures are much greater now than when they were young solicitors."

Much the same applies to trainees. The Trainee Solicitors' Group's (TSG) helpline has recorded instances of trainees working 14-hour days and weekends, being left in charge while partners are on holiday, being summoned to disciplinary hearings without notice and being bullied by bosses.

Susannah Haan, chair of the TSG, has one solution: "Firms need to be more realistic with applicants at the recruitment stage," she says.

"There is a chasm between trainees' expectation and reality."
All levels of the profession are affected by long hours. Research by the Law Society last year found that more than half of the country's 71,000 solicitors work over 46 hours a week.

As well as the obvious disruption to family and social life, the medical effects can be serious.

Professor Cary Cooper, of the University of Manchester's Institute of Science and Technology, has analysed the results of studies throughout the world on the effect of long hours.

He has found that consistently working more than 50 hours a week weakens the body's immune system and is a contributory factor in heart disease.

"Long hours tend to mean ill health – both mental and physical," Cooper says. "The mortality data is pretty conclusive."

The Law Society is due to publish its Guide to Solicitors and Employers this month and is in the process of revising training contracts.

"Stress is a problem for the profession," says the Law Society's David McNeill. "I am not surprised that turnover rates are as high as they are.

We take the pragmatic view that it is a waste of money and good staff. But all we can do is advise firms – we can't force them to comply with our guidelines."

But there are signs that some firms are recognising and addressing the problem.

"We need to attract the best brains to the profession and retain them," says Tony Sacker, chairman of the City of London Solicitors' Association.

"People need to feel that they are working for a caring organisation and they will want to work for you if they feel you care."

Many of the larger firms, including Lovell White Durrant, Linklaters and Clifford Chance, have in-house doctors and provide confidential counselling services run by private medical companies.

DJ Freeman holds regular appraisals for its staff – the lack of which is another common complaint from solicitors – and tries to ensure that they take their full holiday entitlement.

Baker & McKenzie seems to be particularly progressive. Anne Waldron joined the firm's London office a year ago to take responsibility for training in stress management.

She has set up stress management workshops, run by a City GP, which form part of the induction process for trainees.

Their aim is to teach solicitors how to recognise and deal with their stress and to enable those at senior level to recognise the symptoms in their staff. All the partners have attended.

"It is our view that it is best to address the problem at an early stage rather than wait until it is too late," Waldron says.

But firms still have some way to go. "It is early days yet," Sacker admits. "My interest is to raise awareness and that is beginning to happen, but firms' structures and cultures need to change.

"It will take at least three to five years before we begin to see the results."