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08 October 2020 / Claire Williamson
Issue: 7905 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Mind over (business) matters

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The right mental health initiatives can support your people & your firm’s bottom line, says Claire Williamson

Working in the legal industry is demanding. With a culture where the extremes of the job are often applauded—late nights, tight deadlines, being constantly accessible by technology—it is little wonder that a quarter of junior lawyers have described their stress levels as severe, with one in 15 reporting that they had experienced suicidal thoughts. These shocking revelations in the Law Society Resilience Report 2019 (LSRR) sent ripples around the legal community (https://bit.ly/2GuWjS0).

Add in the challenges of the current climate and it is no surprise that 81% of firms in a Leading Minds’ survey reported increased requests from employees with their mental health since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.

Struggles with stress

Many solicitors are not simply experiencing stress, but struggling with it, which is going to have a huge impact on individuals’ health as well as a firm’s performance. Employees who are stressed are not working at their best. Not only is productivity significantly lowered, but

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Partner hire strengthens global infrastructure and energy financing practice

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Legal director bolsters international expertise in dispute resolution team

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

NEWS

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
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