Discussions around health and well-being in the legal profession have been and continue to be of critical importance. Studies have demonstrated that legal practitioners have a heightened predisposition to encounter stress and depression in their working lives. The Law Society has consistently sought to face these challenges and to provide lawyers with the support and assistance they need. 

The Law Society is committed to supporting lawyers and fostering a legal profession that has a strong foundation of positive health and well-being.  

Legal practitioners often lead busy, stressful lives, dominated by extensive working hours and sometimes demanding clients. It is therefore important to balance your work and career with your commitments to family and friends, as well as making sure you look after yourself.

Being Well in the Law is a toolkit, guide and health and well-being resource for lawyers. The publication, originally developed by the Law Society of New South Wales and adapted by the Law Society of Western Australia in 2019 to ensure it is relevant to the needs of Western Australian lawyers and to reflect WA specific resources. We thank the Law Society of NSW for allowing the publication to be adapted in this manner.

As part of encouraging a health work-life balance, the Law Society is committed to encouraging successful flexible workplace protocols amongst law practices. In doing so it has adopted the Victorian Women Lawyer’s (VWL) Flexible Work Proposal Business Case and Individual Flexible Work Plan as the Law Society’s Flexible Work Protocols. It has also adopted the VWL’s 2015 Flexible Work Protocols: A best practice guide for productive and engaged legal workplaces. It is acknowledged by the Law Society that the 2015 Flexible Work Protocols may not be suitable for every law practice. However, members are encouraged to either follow or adopt this very useful tool, as applicable. (See links alongside.)