A study based on a survey of New Zealand lawyers shows overall improvement in the wellbeing and morale of the legal profession.

In conjunction with technology-based customer intelligence agency Perceptive, the College of Law New Zealand conducted a second iteration of a 2018 study, which aims to continue building on insight into the issues, concerns and realities of what it means to work as a lawyer and associated professions in New Zealand.

With more than 500 lawyers taking part in the most recent survey, key findings showed:

• Reduced levels of burnout and stress – there has been an 8% fall in lawyers saying they experienced burnout in 2019, compared to 2018.
• Improved perception of how firms are handling harassment and bullying - there was a significant improvement with 8% more lawyers indicating they had confidence in firms appropriately handling bullying and harassment allegations.
• The view that the profession is doing more to provide support networks was confirmed, with 8% fewer disagreeing that there are adequate support services.
• A significant increase in lawyers indicating that they are planning on staying in the profession – there was a 12% increase in practitioners saying they planned to stay in their current role for more than two years.

“The findings of this study are optimistic, but a reminder that there is still work to be done in the wellbeing space for lawyers,” says Marcus Martin, Chief Executive Officer of the College of Law New Zealand.

“We hope to continue the conversation around best practices to support lawyers throughout their careers.”