Rev Survey: 4 in 5 Lawyers Experience Burnout — Administrative Overload Is the Top Culprit

The Rev 2026 burnout survey (conducted June 2025, data published July 29) found that 79.8% of legal professionals experienced feelings associated with burnout in the past year — nearly four in five — compared with 44% of the general working population according to SHRM data. Among those with 10 or fewer years of experience, 46% experience burnout regularly or constantly. The primary driver is not billable hour pressure alone: 47% cited heavy workloads and long hours as the main burnout contributor, but nearly 30% specifically identified administrative tasks as a primary contributor, and 78% said preparatory or administrative tasks prevent them from spending time on strategic case planning, client counsel, and professional development. For wellbeing officers designing intervention programs, the administrative burden finding is significant: it suggests that burnout is being driven not only by the volume of legal work but by the volume of non-legal work that legal professionals are absorbing alongside it — a problem that AI-assisted workflow tools are positioned to address, but only when deployed with active adoption support rather than passive access.