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How to Re-ignite Your Career Without Putting on Your Superhero Cloak If you believe the statistics, the sole practitioner is a dying breed... themselves with strong resources to maintain good mental health! SYMPTOMS Some of the things you might experience which may indicate mental ill health include poor sleep, low energy, sadness, depression, inability to relax. Relying on stimulants like coffee, or using alcohol or other addictions to ‘numb’ your senses. Mood swings, anger, changes in eating habits/sex drive, reduced ability to concentrate, anxiety or feelings of guilt. Overwhelm or feeling there’s no end in sight, avoidance behaviour, procrastination, making mistakes, withdrawing from friends and activities. Physical problems such as unexplained aches and pains. Difficulty making decisions.
According to the SRA, as at the end of February 2022, less than a fifth (19%) of solicitors’ firms had recognised sole practice status. In 2000 it was close to half (42.5%). WHY THE DECLINE? There are various factors. Some commentators speak of a business model which is unattractive for external investment. Others include lack of resources to invest in IT and back-office infrastructure, the financial repercussions and uncertainty around the Solicitors’ Indemnity Fund run-off provision/ PII contributions, legal aid franchising and the abolition of the old legal aid system, and the stress of sole practice. The result is that some sole practitioners have moved to a legal consultancy model. Some have become associates at other law firms. Others have merged or amalgamated with other practices. Analysis by Arden Partners plc in 2021 pointed to the corporatisation of law firms. Some sole practitioners have ceased practising altogether. Those that remain might feel like Clark Kent - an ordinary human who has the need to transform into a dazzling superhero in order to avert disaster. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Professionals facing a potential major upheaval or change of any sort will undoubtedly experience uncertainty. This in itself can lead to significant stress, which can be especially difficult for a sole practitioner who has basically
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invested their whole life into their business. It’s interesting to note that, according to the Bar Council, 36% of sole practitioner barristers who want a change want to leave the Bar. Anecdotally, I’m aware of solicitors and other legal professionals who are so disillusioned or under so much strain that they can see no way through their challenges unless they leave the profession. The fallout from the pandemic has also added a layer of stress. Several of my clients have said they hadn’t consciously realised the longer-term impact it has had on them. MENTAL WELLBEING LawCare (www.lawcare.org.uk) is the mental wellbeing charity for the legal community. One of the key findings of the “Life in the Law” report commissioned by LawCare and published in September 2021 was that legal professionals are under strain and have a high risk of burnout (regardless of how much autonomy they have. And sole practitioners have more autonomy than most). 69% of the 1,713 participants reported that they had experienced mental ill-health in the previous year. 87% of participants accepted responsibility for their own wellbeing, with 84% saying additionally that responsibility was with their employer. Sole practitioners wear both hats: as their own employers, they would do very well to equip
When your neglect your own mental health, these problems can build up over time. The cumulative effect results in the straw breaking the camel’s back. Intolerable stress. Even breakdown. The tendency I have noticed is that most people are motivated to get away from what they have (but don’t want) far more strongly than to move towards what they do want. In many cases, they don’t actually know what they want, they just know it’s not ‘this’. The result is that a lot of energy is spent on fighting fires, fending off marauders, just keeping their head above water. This is not a powerful or resourceful way of being. It leads to more struggle and it becomes a vicious circle which can end up as burnout. It is national Mental Health Awareness Week from 9-15 May 2022. There is no better time than now to take stock of your psychological fitness and shore up your inner resources... BEFORE the strain gets overwhelming. Mental health struggles arise when things occur that are not aligned with how we think they should be. TAKING STOCK However long you’ve been in practice as a sole practitioner, think back to the time when you decided to go solo. What were your reasons at that time for making that decision? And what was your underlying purpose, the driving force that compelled you to choose that?
