Law firm alcohol culture is damaging mental health
Law Society finds prevalence of drinking contributes to bullying and harassment
Law firm drinking culture is having a negative impact on lawyers’ mental health and contributes towards bullying and harassment, according to the professional body for UK lawyers.
The Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society of England and Wales on Monday released guidelines on creating a healthy alcohol culture in the legal profession, after finding that some lawyers felt excluded from core networking and firm events due to a focus on alcohol.
The update follows concerns about the prevalence of heavy drinking in the industry in the wake of a series of high-profile sexual misconduct scandals at City law firms towards the end of last year.
In October, former Freshfields’ partner Ryan Beckwith was asked whether the “magic circle” firm had a “drinking culture” following revelations about an event which began with lawyers drinking champagne at 10.30am.
Last month Baker McKenzie’s former London head Gary Senior was also forced to discuss his consumption of alcohol at a work event during the course of an ongoing hearing into allegations against him.
Ryan Beckwith and Gary Senior denied any allegations of misconduct.
On Monday, the young lawyers’ division of the Law Society, which surveyed almost 2,000 junior lawyers last year, said unhealthy approaches to alcohol consumption had a potentially negative impact on health, bullying, harassment, diversity and productivity, and argued firms needed to come up with inclusive alcohol policies.
Recommendations included offering better low-alcohol or alcohol-free alternatives at firm events instead of “a warm jug of orange juice or something fizzy”, and considering other times of day for networking and social events, as well as alternative activities such as sports.
The guidelines stem from an annual survey examining the mental health and wellbeing of junior lawyers, launched three years ago in response to fears over the levels of stress suffered by lawyers and conducted most recently last year.
Of the young lawyers surveyed between January and March 2019, over 93 per cent reported feeling stressed in their role, and many said they used alcohol as a coping mechanism and that it was a contributing factor to mental health issues.
The report said it was “often reported that juniors or those at recruitment events particularly feel pressure to consume alcohol to show that they can fit in with the team, socialise well and secure their future career progression”.
The same study in 2018 found that of almost 1,000 junior lawyers, more than 82 per cent of respondents had experienced stress in their role and 26 per cent experienced extreme stress and anxiety.
In response to the new guidelines on Monday, one partner at a top US law firm in London said: “Whether you like it or not, we’ve seen so many problems arising out of events, either formal or informal, at law firms . . . The days of having the big piss-ups are long gone.”
“This is about British culture as much as law firm culture,” he added. “But it is good to see the Law Society giving guidance.”
Not all lawyers agreed, however. Another partner said being “too prescriptive about alcohol intake” was “unhelpful paternalism — people should be trusted to behave but be clear as to consequences if they behave inappropriately”.
She added that law firms should focus on investigating complaints adequately and holding those at fault to account instead.