'Endless human pain': Burned-out lawyers turning to drink amid work stress

New Zealand lawyers are burned out, overwhelmed and traumatised by their jobs, with many turning to drink and nearly a quarter of them thinking of quitting the profession. 

A large-scale survey of hundreds of lawyers, supported by dozens of individual interviews, found many are suffering high levels of emotional exhaustion and feeling stressed and depleted by the demands of their work. 

“Quantitative survey data showed moderate to high levels of vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, moral distress and widespread burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress,” according to the just-published Law in Distress report. 

The 163-page report has been published by the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) with funding and support from the New Zealand Law Foundation. 

It provides data from a survey of 379 lawyers working in different areas and with different levels of experience. 

In-depth interviews with 49 lawyers supported the survey findings, with interviewees expressing “deep frustration” with shortcomings in the legal system and “moral distress” when they found it difficult to act in accordance with their professional values and ethics. 

The interviewees were also troubled by the cumulative toll of being exposed to traumatic cases, as well as the emotional demands of working with little support in an under-resourced justice system. 

‘Witness to endless human pain’ 

“The worst part is the feeling of bearing witness to endless human pain and being powerless to help,” one survey participant wrote. 

“The case volume compounds this feeling, as do the patterns that one sees time and again.” 

More than two-thirds of survey participants (67.6%) described their workload as heavy or extremely heavy. 

More than half (53.6%) reported that their caseload involved mainly traumatic material or traumatised clients. 

Nearly nine in 10 (86%) reported moderate to severe “vicarious trauma”, and 50.7% scored in the moderate to severe range for secondary traumatic stress levels. 

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were evident in some people. 

“Sometimes I struggle with PTSD if family violence clients have experienced a similar situation to my own,” one survey participant said. 

Many lawyers reported symptoms of moderate, severe, or extremely severe depression (28.3%), anxiety (34.1%), and stress (30.8%). 

“Work-related distress among lawyers is a matter of public concern,” the report said. 

“It profoundly impacts lawyers’ wellbeing and undermines the values and ethical framework of the legal system.” 

Many lawyers are thinking of giving up. 

The survey specifically asked lawyers whether they intended to leave the profession in the next one to four years. Close to one quarter (22.5%) indicated they were planning to do so. 

Others are trying to reduce their hours to cope. 

“I have this year reduced my workload to semi-part-time to address the stress,” a survey participant said. 

“I do not see myself returning to full-time work in this area, and the impact of this job on my mental wellbeing and overall life satisfaction, despite now only working less than part-time, signals it is likely I need to leave this profession altogether.” 

Alcohol use was notably high among the surveyed lawyers, who often used it as a coping mechanism. 

More than half of the men (59.8%) and a higher percentage of women (67.8%) self-reported at-risk levels of alcohol consumption. 

The at-risk levels were measured using a points system based on the number of times a week people drink, how much they drink in a session, and how often they binge-drink. 

Some participants even found answering the survey questions about alcohol difficult. 

“I accept that I drink as a form of self-medication and am not proud of this. So I found the alcohol question hard/embarrassing to answer,” one wrote. 

“It seems to be a crutch for many in the industry at the moment who drink to relax, sleep, or just stop thinking about work,” another person said. 

Participants were not asked about drug or substance use beyond alcohol, but some reported other addictive behaviours, including smoking, gambling and food addiction. 

Another survey participant observed: “There are too many of my colleagues who have either died too young from illness or suffered issues with addiction, which many turn a blind eye to, that many leave the law simply because of being so disillusioned with the system. We can do much better.” 

The Law in Distress project identified several priorities for action. 

Former Crown prosecutor Georgina Patel was the lead researcher on the Law in Distress report. 

These included driving cultural and leadership change across the profession to address work-related distress and indirect trauma; increased access to external support; and integrating “trauma-informed principles” into legal education, continuing professional development, and organisational policy. 

It said justice system resourcing and workloads should be reformed to reduce moral distress and attrition, particularly in legal aid and family and criminal law. 

It also called for raised awareness about the requirement to manage psychosocial risks at work under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. 

“This research shows that meaningful change requires systemic and cultural transformation, supported by evidence, collaboration, and investment,” the report said. 

“A trauma-informed, well-supported legal profession is essential to maintaining justice for all New Zealanders.” 

The report said there were some differences in the needs of different lawyers, but there are also many similarities. 

“Action is required to address the perilous state of the justice system for all New Zealanders, where a vital part of its operation, legal practitioners, are so highly concerned about what is occurring.” 

The 379 practitioners who answered the survey provided a representative sample of New Zealand’s 18,000-strong legal fraternity. 

In addition to lead author Georgina Patel, a former Crown prosecutor, its researchers included Katey Thom, Kate Diesfeld, Nick Garrett, Brian McKenna, Anja Vorster, Madeline Hayward and Khylee Quince. 

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay.