🤕 Why does burnout happen to in-house legal teams? (part 1)

The mental health of in-house lawyers doesn't matter.

Well - that's how it feels when you are one. 😔

Burnout is, sadly, a culmination of long-term factors and one short-term trigger.

As lawyers, we are resilient and can take a lot, and often don't realise it's happening until it's too late.

For Mental Health Awareness Month I'll be sharing a lot on this subject, starting with this list of reasons why we end up burning out.

Would love to hear from you if I’ve missed anything or if you’re struggling - email me back and I’ll personally reply! 💜

Save the Date: Dublin AI Mixer ⛴️

On the evening of Wednesday 14 May, I am co-hosting an ITGC Dublin mixer in partnership with Orrick UK during the IAPP AI Governance Global Europe Conference... and you're invited!

It doesn't matter if you aren't going to the conference; you are still invited and I would love to see you! 

This party is for you if you:

💜 work in-house (obv!)

🌍 are in town from outside Ireland for the conference

⚖️ are a tech lawyer in private practice 

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🗓️ Wednesday 14 May 2025, from 5:00 PM onwards

🔗 Secure your spot: To request an invitation and learn more, please contact [email protected]

It’s not just stress.

It’s structure.

And it’s totally predictable.

Here’s why 👇

1️⃣ Team size – Whether you're one person or 50, you're under-resourced. You don’t have an army of support staff like at a law firm. You have to make do with what you've got.

2️⃣ Negative bias – People bring their previous bad experiences with them and tar you with the same brush. Sadly, some simply do not respect lawyers. They don't trust you; think you're slow; see you as the police, or a fee-extracting vampire that doesn't care about business. They think you only say "no".

3️⃣ Professional ethics – Your profession is heavily regulated and scrutinised. You are duty bound to do everything in a way that complies with your ethical obligations. You are an officer of the court first, before all else. Very few non-lawyers realise any of this, or that it is a constant source of pressure in everything you do.

4️⃣ Long hours – Working long hours across multiple timezones and associated lack of sleep to meet service levels and business needs is a reality of in-house legal practice.

5️⃣ People think you're a robot – As a lawyer, you are resilient, confident, tough and opinionated. You are paid by your company to be this way. But that doesn't mean you don't have feelings or need to manage your mental health.

6️⃣ Your colleagues aren’t lawyers anymore – This is the best bit about in-house life! But the down side is that most of the people you work with outside the legal team don't understand how much you are being asked to do with so few resources.

7️⃣ EOQ – Enough said!!

8️⃣ The final trigger – It could be any one of the points in here (or in Part 2 coming in the next newsletter) or something else, but there is always one short-term trigger that can send you over the edge and into burnout territory.

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This week’s epiphanies

✨ Life will continue to throw stressful curveballs at you - they become the norm rather than the exception as you progress through life.

✨ Some stressful curveballs are the good kind that help us grow by challenging us (like an unexpected late night on a deal that ends up teaching you tons and giving you confidence you didn’t know you had!).

✨ It’s quite comforting to accept we can’t control the unexpected or the twists and turns and that everything is unfolding as it should.

✨ Especially when we CAN control taking care of ourselves through daily micro habits (finding headspace however brief to put ourselves needs first and to literally/metaphorically breathe).

✨ Find small pockets in each day where you put yourself first and let it all go (even just for 10 minutes) - a walk, meditation, jumping on the spot.

When you're ready, here's how I can help you further:

1️⃣ This newsletter is for content specifically on how to build a modern in-house legal function. If you're interested in insights on my journey from law to founder - and want to go deep on aspects of that as I build - subscribe to my LinkedIn newsletter here.

2️⃣ I have Gumroad guides too if you want a DIY manual - grab them here.

3️⃣ 1:1 coaching calls (legal ops, legal tech, how to build a future-fit in-house legal team, starting a career like mine): email me at [email protected] and let's talk!

4️⃣ For legal tech and legal ops vendors: I can help you boost brand growth and generate funnel with your ICP - fill out this form.

P.S. Curious about in-house practice or simply want to reach out?

Don't hesitate to reply to this email - I'm happy to help with any questions, no strings attached.

Until next time,

Sarah 💜

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