Legally drained: why are stress levels rising among law students?

“One of my lecturers describes law school as being like the Hunger Games,” says law student Erin May Conely. “It can be quite cut-throat with everyone fighting for the same jobs at top law firms.”

For the 22-year-old, who is studying law at the University of Birmingham, the competitive atmosphere has led to so much stress that she has decided not to enter the profession once she graduates. She wants to go into teaching instead.

Conely’s experience is not unique. The Junior Lawyers Division’s 2019 resilience and wellbeing survey found that 93% of respondents – students, graduates, trainee solicitors and solicitors up to five years’ qualified – felt stressed. Almost half said that they had experienced poor mental health, which is a 10% increase from the year before.

Related: What to expect from your first year at law school – by current students

It’s no secret that the legal profession can often be a high-pressure working environment; lawyers are the second most stressed professionals in the country. Some universities are therefore taking steps to help students better cope with academic pressures and the transition from legal education to a career as a lawyer.

The BPP University Law School has announced that it will introduce lessons on mindfulness, meditation, relaxation and resilience as part of their courses. Students will learn topics including “balancing work and life”, “self-care” and “getting a good night’s sleep”.

“It wasn’t that long ago when mental wellbeing in the law was barely discussed,” says Jo-Anne Pugh, director of programme design and development at BPP. “The profession has moved on and all law schools must also do the same.”

Despite the profession making loud noises about the importance of improving mental health among students and graduates, the reality is junior lawyers remain overworked. Research by law firm Douglas Scott revealed that 17% of trainees are working 48 hours or more, with London-based trainees expected to work more than any others in the country. In some extreme cases, trainees are forfeiting holidays taking them below the statutory minimum of 20 days and training contracts are being used to deliver services blighted by gaps in public funding.

The workaholic culture appears to start at university. In a year-long study of the resilience and mental health experiences of undergraduate students at Leeds University, associate professor of law Lydia Bleasdale found that, unlike their cohorts, law students had very little free time to pursue activities unrelated to the profession. Anything legal students did outside of their studies was related to law.

In a separate study of millennial lawyers, trainees reported similar struggles to find a work-life balance. Junior lawyers also admitted they felt that university didn’t prepare them enough for the level of stress in the profession, and the study heard stories of trainees not sleeping or crying in the office toilets.

Related: Career pressure starts early for law students – here’s how to cope

Competition at university for academic and professional prowess, as well as a culture of perfectionism, exacerbates this pressure. Bleasdale says: “What we found was that students were comparing themselves to others and then feeling deficient, like they were the only ones who didn’t understand something or were the only ones who were struggling. It was usually related to a sense of not being good enough academically.”

Bleasdale says it’s vital that law students try to maintain a sense of identity that is not entirely bound up in academic success. Carve out time for yourself after studies and get involved in activities that are not related to your course or profession. Stay away from social media, she adds – it can be a toxic place which feeds into that frenzy of comparison and competition.

If you are struggling to cope, however, it’s important to talk about it. Elizabeth Rimmer, chief executive of support charity LawCare, says: “If you are a student, talk to your tutor, family or friends. Don’t go it alone. If you are in work and feeling overwhelmed, definitely go and speak to a colleague. Confide in someone and tell them how you are feeling and see if you can get additional support.

“Secondly, sit down and try to silence that inner critic that might be telling you are not good enough and you can’t do these things,” she adds. “Remind yourself of all the achievements you have had and make a realistic plan for how you are going to get through it all. Most importantly, many people feel this way. You won’t be the only person who has ever felt like that.”