Psychological Health and Safety in the Legal Industry - with Desi Vlahos

Psych Health and Safety Podcast

In this episode we chat with Desi Vlahos, Mentor and Lawyer at Leo Cussen Centre for Law, and Wellbeing Taskforce Member for the International Bar Association. Desi shares with us how she became interested in becoming an advocate for lawyer mental health, and describes some of the work she is doing with the International Bar Association Wellbeing Taskforce. She discusses the psychosocial hazards affecting lawyers, the potential consequences of those hazards, and speaks to the rates of burnout and attrition among early career lawyers. Desi shares her views about the causes of these hazards, and suggests a way forward for the design of work within law firms to create a sustainable competitive edge in the new world of work. Norm Kelk et al, ‘Courting the Blues: Attitudes towards Depression in Australian Law Students and Lawyers’ (Report, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, January 2009) - BRMI Report https://www.ibanet.org/Mental-wellbeing-in-the-legal-profession - IBA Wellbeing Survey https://mindscount.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TJMF-workplace-wellbeing-guidelines-.pdf - Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation Best Practice Guidelines https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/policy-agenda/advancing-the-profession/equal-opportunities-in-the-law/national-report-on-attrition-and-re-engagement - NARS Survey https://lsbc.vic.gov.au/resources/lawyer-wellbeing-report - Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner Lawyer Wellbeing Project http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/lpulascr2015658/index.html- Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2015 Kozarov v State of Victoria [2020] VSC 78, in which a former public prosecutor was awarded damages due to her employer’s failure to take reasonable steps to protect her from mental harm in her employment. Victoria v Kozarov [2020] VSCA 301 (24 November 2020) Kozarov v State of Victoria [2021] HCATrans 101 (21 May 2021) Special leave granted for High Court Appeal)