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According to a 2022 survey of 300 U.S.-based in-house counsel by the legal talent provider Axiom, 47% of surveyed lawyers reported feeling very or extremely stressed or burned out in their jobs.
In addition, 99 percent said the number of legal matters they’ve supported over the last few years has increased, according to the survey.
The Association of Corporate Counsel is looking to ease the stressors faced by in-house counsel across the country through a new well-being toolkit.
The kit is filled with guidelines to help lawyers accomplish the expectations of their roles while maintaining their mental and emotional well-being.
“It’s meeting the needs of the profession,” said Susanna McDonald, vice president and chief legal officer for the ACC.
What the toolkit does
The ACC’s toolkit offers advice on individual well-being, work-life balance, and effective leadership using five checklists.
The ACC began offering mental health-related resources during the pandemic but continued when members responded positively to the help, McDonald said.
Veta Richardson, president and CEO of the ACC, said members have increasingly expressed a need for resources to help them navigate their complex and ever-changing roles.
“The topic of well-being in the legal profession has been increasingly important, especially with research over the past few years highlighting concerns related to mental health and substance abuse in the profession,” Richardson said in an email. “Even since the early days of the pandemic, we’ve seen continual interest in these resources from members.”
Checklist one, which tackles establishing a healthy work-life balance, suggests in-house lawyers set clear boundaries between their work and personal life, in addition to planned social time and “me time.” The ACC also recommends regularly assessing one’s workload and stress levels.
For lawyers who work remotely, separating work from home life can be difficult. But the ACC suggests establishing business hours for work, and when off the clock, to stay off business emails or chats.
Each of the checklists are designed to offer brief, to the point advice to help in-house counsel establish effective habits in their jobs.
“We design all of our resources to try to be practical information with actionable advice,” McDonald said.
In tandem with each of the checklists, the ACC gives users articles by in-house counsel and other resources that offer more information on how lawyers can establish healthy routines for themselves on and off the job.
The role of in-house counsel
Expectations for in-house lawyers have changed significantly over the past few years, according to the ACC’s 2024 Chief Legal Officers Survey. The survey reports that 58 percent of CLOs now oversee three or more business functions beyond legal, with 27 percent overseeing five or more functions.
“From cybersecurity to government affairs, human resources and more, in-house lawyers are dealing with some of the most complicated and important aspects of ensuring continual business operations,” said Richardson in an email.
In-house lawyers in Indianapolis echo the same observation.
“As in-house counsel, there’s kind of the idea that you’re jack of all trades, master of none,” said Sonya Seeder, in-house counsel for Guidon Design.
One of the biggest challenges Seeder faces in her job is her being the only person in the legal department at Guidon.
“I don’t have a lot of people to bounce ideas off of or to go to for other legal support,” she said.
Both she and Debi Dobbins, in-house counsel at Heritage Environmental Services, LLC, said that because their legal departments are so small, they often rely on their network of fellow lawyers to guide them when they have questions.
“What I relied on them mostly for is affirmation, if you will,” said Dobbins. “Just somebody to go to and go, ‘This is what I’m doing, this is what I’m thinking. Is this right?’”
“Being able to have, kind of your own trusted counsel who’s not charging you by the minute, is so helpful and helps you just feel not alone and not be scared to ask the dumb question, or just reach out for help,” Seeder said.
The ACC’s toolkit provides resources on how to build a network of lawyers who support each other with legal advice and in everyday challenges. They also offer toolkits on other topics relevant to in-house lawyers, including a new toolkit on professional growth.
These resources are currently available to members of the ACC.
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