Lawyers working more than 71 hours face roughly triple the severe-stress risk

On September 10, Reuters reported findings from a study of more than 37,000 lawyers showing that those working more than 71 hours a week were about three times as likely to screen positive for moderate-to-severe stress as those working 31 to 40 hours. Law-firm lawyers also reported higher hazardous-drinking rates than in-house and judicial respondents, while private-practice and litigation groups showed higher distress or burnout. For firm leaders, these are economic signals because sustained overload increases absence, attrition, supervision risk and the replacement cost of experienced lawyers. Capacity planning should therefore track workload concentration and recovery time alongside utilization, particularly when record sector employment suggests aggregate headcount alone is not relieving pressure.