The Life in the Law 2025 surveys will provide a detailed, up-to-date understanding of wellbeing and mental health in the legal sector. The results from this research will go beyond simply identifying problems - they will help shape the future of the legal sector by providing evidence-based recommendations for meaningful change. From improving workplace practices and policies to tackling stigma and fostering a healthier culture, your input will directly inform the solutions that can make life in the law better for everyone.

The findings will be released in October 2025 and will provide a platform for understanding how collectively we tackle systemic issues in law and achieve positive/meaningful change in the legal sector.

For more information please take a look at the Project information sheet.

Participation in these online surveys is completely voluntary. You are free to choose not to participate or to stop at any point.  You can withdraw from the online surveys at any time up to 14 days after completing and submitting the survey(s). You do not have to give any reasons for why you no longer want to take part and there will be no adverse consequences if you choose to withdraw. If you wish to withdraw from the project, please contact Dr Emma Jones on [email protected].

We’re inviting everyone who works within the legal sector and/or self-identifies as a legal professional or someone who supports the work of legal professionals in the UK, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man to take part.

There are two surveys - one to be completed by individuals and the other to be completed on behalf of organisations.

1. For individuals: This survey is open to anyone working in any capacity in the legal sector, from solicitors and barristers to support staff and paralegals. By sharing personal experiences, challenges and areas for improvement your input will provide a crucial perspective. Every response adds a vital additional angle, providing valuable depth and breadth to the findings.
2. For legal organisations: This survey is for workplaces such as law firms, chambers, and in-house legal departments, to find out more about mental health initiatives, policies and practices and their impact on wellbeing. It’s aimed at those responsible for people management or wellbeing. By participating, organisations can help produce evidence based best practice guidance that supports mental health and creates positive work environments.

Please take a look at our answer to ‘Who can take part in these surveys’ for further details. If you fit the criteria for completing the survey on behalf of a legal organisation then you are welcome to complete this survey detailing what is in place in your organisation as well as the survey for individuals which you would then complete in relation to your own personal experience.

The Life in the Law 2025 research is led by a knowledgeable team with experience in law, mental health, and wellbeing.

• Dr. Emma Jones from the University of Sheffield is an expert on the role of wellbeing and emotions in legal education and the legal profession
• Lucinda Soon, a LawCare Trustee, is a legal ethics solicitor, organisational psychologist, and academic researcher specialising in applying psychology to legal practice to develop ethical and healthy workplaces in law.
• The survey is also supported by LawCare staff, the charity dedicated to supporting mental health in the legal sector.

This team brings together strong academic and practical insights to better understand and support the wellbeing of those in the legal sector.

If you choose to take part, you will be asked to complete an online survey(s). The surveys each take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The online surveys will include questions on topics such as workload, burnout, training, wellbeing, and the future of the legal sector.

This research isn’t just about numbers or data. It’s about real people in the legal sector, their stories, challenges, and successes. By taking part, you can help create a clearer picture of the current state of mental health in law. Your experiences - whether as an individual navigating the challenges of legal work or as part of an organisation striving to support colleagues - are vital. Without updated data, it’s impossible to measure progress or understand whether the sector is moving in the right direction. Your voice ensures that the current realities of working in law are heard and that changes are based on lived experiences.

The surveys will be open from Wednesday 15 January until  Friday 21 March 2025 and can be completed at any time during that period.

The surveys must be completed in one sitting as there is no option to save responses to return at a later stage. However, PDFs of the questions are available here so that you know what to expect and can consider your responses before commencing the survey(s).:

• Life in the Law 2025 - PDF of the survey for individuals

• Life in the Law 2025 - PDF of the survey for organisations

Please note that you can't submit your responses by PDF, these are for information only. 

 It isn’t possible for you to amend or edit responses after submission so please take a look through your answers to make sure you are happy with them before you hit the submit button.

There are a mix of mandatory and optional questions throughout the surveys – if at any stage you do not want to proceed to completion there is no requirement to do so, participation is completely voluntary. If you do not ‘submit’ your responses they will not form part of the data which is analysed and reported upon.

Personal details will not be revealed to people outside the Project Team in accordance with the ethics approval.

Online survey responses may be quoted in publications, reports, webpages, and other research outputs but will remain anonymised and you will not be able to be identified – you (and your organisation) will not be named in these outputs. Results will be combined and reported upon as a group. If mentioned, personal names and individual firms will be removed at the point of transcription to ensure that no individuals can be identified. Any information that you share during the course of the project will only be accessible to members of the Project Team.

If you encounter any technical issues or have general queries when completing the survey please contact: [email protected] 

For queries directly relating to the research project only please contact Dr Emma Jones on [email protected]

The Life in the Law 2025 surveys are mobile-friendly, so you can complete them on your phone, tablet, or computer. For the best experience, especially with longer questions, we recommend using a desktop or laptop. No special software is needed - just a stable internet connection and a standard web browser.

When you reach the end of the survey(s) you will be invited to hit the ‘Submit’ button after you do so you will see this message on your screen:

Screenshot of Life in the Law 2025 submission message - individuals

Screenshot of Life in the Law 2025 submission message - organisations

You will not receive any additional confirmation of submission as we do not require you to enter your email address to complete these surveys.

It would be fantastic if you could share details of the surveys with others in your firm, organisation, groups or networks within the legal sector across the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. We want to reach as many people and organisations as possible.

You can either simply direct them to these links:

• Complete the Life in the Law survey for individuals 
• Complete the Life in the Law survey for organisations 

You can also share our social media posts. Here's our LinkedIn post about the research. We also have promotional materials for Law in the Law 2025 here. 

We will add all our marketing resources here: LawCare| Legal mental health charity | Our materials

You will able to download the press release, images and text that you are welcome to use on websites, in newsletters and on social media. 

If there is anything else you would find useful please let us know. 

Please use this link when signposting to Life in the Law 2025 survey for individuals: www.lawcare.org.uk/survey This will take you to the survey for individuals (which includes a link to the survey for organisations).

If you want to share the link to the survey for organisations please use this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSei_OyqFo0X9m6mpCjOhh--2Ia0ym1JROo_9NOFANPHDqpYDg/viewform

If you feel in any way distressed or uncomfortable with answering any of the questions there is no requirement to proceed, participation in the surveys is completely voluntary.

You are welcome to contact LawCare via the direct support channels for additional support if there is anything you would like to chat through – the free, confidential helpline is available Monday- Friday 9am to 5pm on 0800 279 6888, chat online when the red chat online tab is showing on the website or send an email to the support team on [email protected]

Outside of the LawCare hours you may wish to reach out to Samaritans on 116 123.

In accordance with the ethics approval for this Project the results of the measure(s) applied and closed questions will be quantitatively analysed to provide an overview of the mental health and wellbeing of individual legal professionals. Comparisons will also be made between sub-groups (e.g. paralegals compared to solicitors, self-employed practitioners compared to employed practitioners).

We’ll look at how mental wellbeing and distress relate to participants’ demographics (like gender and disability) to identify those reporting the highest levels of wellbeing and those reporting the most distress.

The open-ended questions will be qualitatively analysed in order to provide a more in-depth understanding of the topics being explored and provide indications of areas for further research and initiatives.

The Project Team are planning to release a report detailing the results of the survey in October 2025 – please sign up to the LawCare newsletter or follow us on social media to be kept up to date with progress.

We have PDFs of the questions in each survey. 

• Life in the Law 2025 - PDF of the survey for individuals
• Life in the Law 2025 - PDF of the survey for organisations

Please note that you can't submit your responses by PDF, these are for information only.