'Avoid Tendency To Glorify Over-Work; Mental Health Important For Lawyers' : CJI DY Chandrachud

The stressful and competitive nature of legal profession is a factor for mental health issues among lawyers, said Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.

"The first primary cause for mental health issues is the adversarial tenor of the legal profession. There is something in our profession by which people take pride in its adversarial tenor", CJI said in a virtual conversation with Professor David B. Wilkins of Harvard Law School.

"Long working hours, sleepless nights, no exercise, financial worries make the profession stressful", he said. The CJI added that after the pandemic, several lawyers lost work. Also, many lost their friends and family system, depriving them of an emotional support system.

The CJI added that law can be a "feudal and exclusionary profession" and persons from marginalized communities, women, queer community and persons with disabilities face difficulties. Junior lawyers, especially those who are not in law firms, are troubled by financial anxieties.

Stressing on the importance of mental health, CJI cautioned against the tendency to view life only through the "lens of one's career".

"The question is not how can good mental health advance my professional interests. Mental well being is of paramount importance, even if it cannot advance your career in any way. It has an inherent value. In any case, it does improve your performance in the long run by just pursuing a holistic pattern of life".

"We have created a system which rewards excellence at the cost of practically everything else. There has to be a change of mindset across the profession. Holistic well being must be considered an essential part of a lawyer's life. We have to avoid the tendency to glorify overwork and burnout. That is a race to the bottom. Law firms and barristers offices must encourage a sense of professional camaraderie. Above all, we have to dispel the stigma which surrounds mental health issues".

The CJI also spoke about the need to pay adequate living wages to young lawyers.

"It is important that we adopt an intersectional approach towards mental health, particularly in the context of the very stressful environment which lawyers have to confront in this profession", CJI said.

The virtual event was organized by the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession to confer CJI Chandrachud with the “Award for Global Leadership” in recognition of his lifetime of service to the legal profession in India and around the world.

The updates from the event can be read in the Twitter thread below :