Lawyers' Safety And Wellbeing

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has launched a new initiative aimed at supporting the mental health and wellbeing of members of the legal profession and their support staff.

There has been an increase in the number of lawyers reporting workplace bullying, according to legal mental health charity LawCare. Its 2023 report records that 92 people who contacted LawCare for mental health support said that workplace bullying, harassment, or discrimination was their primary rea

Solicitors can now avail of individual psychotherapy at a discounted rate through the Law Society of Ireland's LegalMind service. From today, LegalMind has entered a new partnership with the charity Clanwilliam Institute to offer access to accredited psychotherapists at a reduced rate.

McCann FitzGerald LLP has announced a number of new and extended family support policies for its staff of more than 600 people in Ireland. The policies extend the firm's existing supports for maternity, paternity and compassionate leave, and introduce new supports for those undergoing fertility trea

Midlands firm Tormeys Solicitors LLP is piloting a four-day working week as part of a global initiative aimed at improving productivity and employee wellbeing.

William Fry and RDJ have been ranked among the top 100 companies for employee wellbeing in Ireland by business group Ibec. Both law firms were included in an index published by Ibec in partnership with Business & Finance for a third year running.

ByrneWallace LLP has set out plans to support staff experiencing domestic abuse and menopause later this year. The firm will launch two new dedicated staff wellness programmes over the course of 2023, it announced on International Women's Day today.

Law students are more likely to misuse alcohol and have suicidal thoughts than their peers, according to a new study by researchers north and south of the border. A research paper produced by academics at Ulster University (UU), Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and Uppsala University explores

LawCare has published findings on the mental health needs of men in the workplace. A focus group of barristers, partners, mid-level and junior associates, in-house lawyers as well as those in support roles, from across the jurisdictions, was used to gain an idea of the mental health experiences of m

Arthur Cox LLP has introduced a new leave policy for employees who are undergoing fertility treatments such as IVF. Following a government announcement of a new publicly-funded IVF treatment scheme, the law firm has introduced a new fertility leave policy entitling employees undergoing fertility tre

Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, a prominent human rights lawyer from Ireland who practises in London, has spoken of receiving death threats, including one which said she should be murdered "like Pat Finucane". Ms Gallagher, a barrister with Doughty Street Chambers, shared her experience while speaking at

A man has been arrested and charged with the attempted murder of US Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. Nicholas John Roske was allegedly found with a gun and a knife after his arrest near the justice's home in California early on Wednesday morning, The Washington Post reports.

International law firms are increasingly launching wellness programmes and hiring burnout advisers in a bid to retain staff, according to reports. Ashurst and Baker McKenzie – which have a presence in Dublin and Belfast respectively – are among firms who have introduced schemes aimed at

Human rights lawyers are among tens of thousands of people whose phones were allegedly targeted with spyware made by an Israeli company and sold to law enforcement agencies worldwide, according to a major investigation. Dozens of journalists co-ordinated by Forbidden Stories with technical support f

A solicitor has made a formal complaint after she was told to remove her bra before she was allowed to visit a client in Cloverhill Prison. A written complaint sent to the Irish Prison Service (IPS) outlines the "degrading incident" which took place on 11 June 2020, the Irish Examiner reports.