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Overview

There is a growing recognition that poor mental health is a significant occupational hazard for lawyers, judges and others who work in the legal system. This course will help you to gain a deeper understanding of this complex issue, its underlying causes, and your ethical duties to uphold your own mental wellbeing - and not to diminish the wellbeing of others.

Studies in Australia and overseas consistently show that legal practitioners experience poor mental health at much higher rates than any other profession. This means it is highly likely that lawyers will either experience poor mental wellbeing personally or among colleagues throughout their professional lives. But what underlying factors contribute to poor mental wellbeing in the profession, and how should practitioners respond to this issue?

This course considers the prevalence of poor mental health in the legal profession and explores some of the underlying factors contributing to this issue both in Australia and globally. It discusses the ethical duties which lawyers have to maintain their own mental wellbeing, and to avoid engaging in conduct that diminishes the wellbeing of others. The course also explores when a practitioner has a duty to notify a regulator about their own mental health, or another practitioners’ mental health.

Date Published: July 2024

Key takeaways

Prevalence & Impacts: Gain insights into the high rates of poor mental wellbeing in the profession, and its impacts and implications.
Ethical Responsibilities: Learn about the ethical duties you have to maintain your own mental wellbeing and to avoid impairing the mental wellbeing of others.
Regulatory Obligations: Understand when you may be required to disclose poor mental health to a regulator – either for yourself or another practitioner.
Systemic Perspective: Explore the broader systemic issues contributing to poor mental wellbeing in the legal profession and how addressing these benefits the entire legal system.