Latham & Watkins has taken on two mental health professionals to offer counselling to UK employees amid growing concerns over burnout in the legal sector, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Previously, the firm offered counselling sessions to employees in its other offices but has now extended this initiative to cover more locations, such as London, from January this year.
The initiative will also be available to trainees, summer associates, and law students who will still be able to access Latham’s mental health support when they return to their studies.
A study by UK insurance firm Protectivity revealed lawyers to be the second most stressed professionals in the country – with 63% in the legal industry reporting stress daily. This statistic is thought to have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced legal professionals into new working habits and routines.