Recognizing the signs of burnout can help spark cultural change in firms.
In the high-pressure world of the legal industry, where success often comes at a cost, burnout is an all-too-familiar companion.
Coco Soodek, a seasoned corporate lawyer with 24 years of experience, shared a story that likely sounds familiar. Back in 2006, when she achieved the desired position of partner at a prestigious law firm, she found herself grappling with an unexpected adversary — burnout. However, back then she had no idea about this terminology.
“I was waking up in the middle of the night saying, ‘Gosh, if I died today would that be so bad?’”
Only 18 years later did Soodek realize that her persistent fatigue was a classic symptom of burnout.
She quit the law firm and started to try herself out in all types of different fields as a writer, speaker, business coach and author. “The problem when you make partner in a big firm [is] you have to do exactly what you've been doing for so long, but you just got to do more of it. And I couldn't see the point,” Soodek says.
Burnout is sneaky, and negatively impacts and amplifies preexisting issues in your life.
“[It] can open the door to other things,” says Paula Davis, the Founder of Stress & Resilience Institute and a mental health specialist. “Burnout can coincide with depression; for other people, they may start to notice ‘that glass of wine that I was drinking at night to just blow off steam has turned into two glasses of wine, which is now three glasses of wine, and oh no — I have found myself … unsuspectingly potentially developing a substance use disorder.’”
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that remains unsuccessfully managed.
Davis, who also was a lawyer for seven years, has hosted more than 400 workshops to help people to deal with burnout. She says burnout consists of three elements:
She also highlights the importance of differentiating burnout and stress: The feeling of all three is what causes burnout. Someone who is stressed can feel these symptoms as well, but burnout is different by the chronicity of these symptoms.
It’s not just the lawyers experiencing it. Stressed leadership trickles down to all staff, making for an environment ripe for burnout.
“Leaders are notoriously well known to have psychological burnout from things like imposter syndrome or the burden of making sure they're making the right decisions,” says Nancy Morris, a certified business psychologist with more than 25 years of experience.
“If you are experiencing … significant problems in your relationships because of your stress, I think you then have to really step back and ask yourself some very tough questions. ‘Is this the place for me? Is this the team for me? Is this industry for me? Is this what I should be doing?’”
In 2023, a report titled the State of Wellbeing in Law surveyed 3,814 attorneys and professionals from six large firms in the United States. Of that sample, 17% said they don’t have the energy to pursue what’s important to them by the end of the work week. Furthermore, 52% of employees reported taking at least one day off in the last three months due to mental health difficulties.
“The research is telling us right now that burnout at the leader level is the highest and fastest rising group right now,” Davis says. She says potential reasons for the fast-rising numbers can be the last several years that were particularly challenging with COVID-19, lockdown, economic uncertainty and artificial intelligence putting strains on a person's mental health.
Experiencing these feelings doesn’t necessarily mean you need a career change. Davis notes that burnout exists on a spectrum. But it does indicate it’s time to evaluate the source of the burnout.
“If you are experiencing … significant problems in your relationships because of your stress, I think you then have to really step back and ask yourself some very tough questions. ‘Is this the place for me? Is this the team for me? Is this industry for me? Is this what I should be doing?’” Davis says.
Morris identifies five types of rest that are necessary for a person:
“The most important is psychological rest,” Morris says. “The idea that you’ve got too many mental tasks going on, you’re constantly thinking about work or you’re constantly disrupted thinking about family matters, or you’re constantly really using your brain a lot.”
“Leaders are notoriously well known to have psychological burnout from things like imposter syndrome or the burden of making sure they're making the right decisions.”
Morris also cites self-awareness as an antidote for burnout — being able to identify and release what parts of work can be reduced. And while it might be tempting to quit, it might help to step away from work to evaluate what you need first.
“I'm a big believer in sabbaticals. I don't think quitting is always the right solution,” Morris says.
For the short-term, Morris suggests firm leadership needs to measure its ability to provide all five types of the rest mentioned above. The long-term solution is to create access to these five types of rest — and not just as a policy on paper, but as a culture that prioritizes it.
After decades marked by burnout, Soodek ventured into a different career realm, only to find her way back to the legal landscape with renewed vigor. Reflecting on her professional evolution, she says that a friend's inquiry about art law became the spark that reignited her passion.
Leveraging her enthusiasm for business law and her extensive contacts in the art industry, Soodek reengaged with clients, ultimately founding Seasongood Law in 2017. Her success in the legal arena now hinges on a mindful alignment with personal values, a discerning client selection process and a deliberate detachment from profit-induced stress.
“I do the same work now. I just do it in a different way, and I love it,” Soodek says.
Conversations about mental health can be difficult to start. But just as CPR helps even those without clinical training to assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) prepares participants to interact with a person experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis. Mental Health First Aiders learn a five-step action plan that guides them through the process of reaching out and offering appropriate support. ALA is now offering this training from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing in 2024. Learn more: alanet.org/mhfa.
