Mental Health and Lawyers: An Unspoken Crisis or An Opportunity For Change?

July 2024

Abstract

The legal profession, by its nature, is one that is known for its high stress, long hours, and intense competition. These factors often contribute to a higher prevalence of mental health issues among lawyers, compared to other professions. A study conducted by the American Bar Association and Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation revealed some rather startling statistics: About 28% of lawyers struggle with some level of depression, 19% experience symptoms of anxiety, and 21% qualify as problem drinkers. Comparatively, there are more US lawyers struggling with problematic drinking (36.4%) versus 15% of medical physicians having this challenge.

Author

Jeffery Tan

Group General Counsel & Chief Sustainability Officer , Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited, Singapore

Jeffery is the Group General Counsel; Chief Sustainability Officer, Director, Group Corporate Affairs; and Group Company Secretary of Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. He is responsible for legal, compliance, company secretarial, communications and public affairs at the Group level. Before joining Jardine Cycle & Carriage, he was the Group General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Board Secretary for UTAC Holdings Ltd. Prior to that, he has over 30 years of private practice and in-house legal experience with international law firms and multinational companies such as Allen & Gledhill, DLA Piper, Siemens and Motorola. He also served in a business capacity as President of Motorola Singapore for five years. Jeffery has an LLB (HONS) from the National University of Singapore. He is a senior Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Singapore and a Solicitor of England & Wales. He has completed the Senior Executive Management Program, at Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management and the Driving Strategic Innovation Program at MIT Sloan School of Management. Jeffery serves on the board of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and is an Advisor to the Sustainability Panel of the Singapore Stock Exchange’s SGListco Association.

Company

Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited

Jardine Cycle and Carriage Limited is a leading Singapore listed diversified conglomerate and a member of the Jardine Matheson Group. With a market cap of US$13.9 Billion, it is a component stock of the bell weather FTSE Straits Times Index which employs over 250,000 people across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. JC&C has a strategic interest in Astra International, the largest independent automotive group in Southeast Asia. Astra International has further interests in financial services, heavy equipment, mining, construction & energy, agribusiness, infrastructure & logistics, information technology and property.

I think the future poses several challenges for in-house legal management, including navigating complex regulatory landscapes, addressing cybersecurity and data privacy concerns, managing global operations and compliance, adapting to evolving...Read more

Alfonso Levote

General Consel & Investor Relations, Rosetti Marino S.p.A., Italy

A Lawyer’s New Year Resolution Working to Overcome Sustainability Fatigue

Now that the year-end festivities are behind us, one should be refreshed, renewed, and reinvigorated to start the new year. That’s the theory. For those who are involved in sustainability matters (be...Read more

Jeffery Tan

Group General Counsel & Chief Sustainability Officer , Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited, Singapore

How to Sustain the Unstainable - Coping With a Blizzard of Demands

Despite the long hours and relatively high rates of burn out within the legal profession, there is often still a lack of support for in house lawyers working under extreme...Read more

Richard Reade

General Counsel, Coats Group, UK

Lawyer Leaders, Kindness & Mental Health

As our world emerges from the global COVID-19 pandemic that has transformed (and in some cases ravaged) the lives of many at every level, many leaders and those they lead...Read more

Jeffery Tan

Group General Counsel & Chief Sustainability Officer , Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited, Singapore

Mental Health and Lawyers: An Unspoken Crisis or An Opportunity For Change?

Abstract

Author

Company

Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited

Related Papers