Many lawyers are unable to cope with the stresses and strains of their profession, counselling service LawCare has warned.
A survey of callers to its helplines found two-thirds were suffering from ‘intolerable’ stress and 80 per cent said their abuse or addiction to alcohol was a result of their stress levels.
Some 30 per cent of male lawyers and 20 per cent of female lawyers said they drank ‘to excess’.
Lawyers, as a profession, had the highest national mortality rate related to chronic liver disease and other alcohol-related diseases, said LawCare.
The death rate from cirrhosis among lawyers was also double the national average, it warned.
Stress, depression and alcohol or drug abuse within the profession were often putting careers and marriages or personal relationships at risk, it added.
