From Hidden Strain to Organisational Responsibility: Rethinking Neurodivergence, Trauma and Wellbeing in Law

July 27, 2026

AUTHOR Inside Practice

Inside Practice has launched a dedicated Legal Wellbeing platform and made two recent webinar replays publicly available ahead of Legal Wellbeing London this September.


The pressures affecting wellbeing in the legal profession are often difficult to see. A lawyer may appear to be performing at a high level while expending enormous energy masking neurodivergent traits. Another may continue delivering for clients while repeated exposure to traumatic material, distressed individuals or high-conflict matters gradually changes how they think, feel and respond.


Over recent weeks, Inside Practice has examined both forms of hidden strain through two specialist webinars. The full replays are now publicly available, giving legal leaders, people teams and practitioners an opportunity to revisit the discussions and share them more widely.


The webinars also form part of a broader development: the launch of Legal Wellbeing, Inside Practice’s new dedicated intelligence platform for the profession. The site brings together regular briefings, research and data, event information and resources covering lawyer mental health, neurodivergence, psychological safety, leadership accountability and the future of legal work. It gives these discussions a permanent home and creates continuity between briefings, webinars and live events.


That continuity matters. The challenges raised in both webinars do not fit neatly within a single wellbeing initiative or annual awareness week. They affect how work is allocated, how performance is interpreted, how managers respond to warning signs and how firms discharge their responsibilities to people working under sustained pressure. The platform will keep those questions visible between live discussions.

Supporting Neurodivergence in Law

Supporting Neurodivergence in Law: From Silent Struggle to Structural Advantage brought together Char Erskine, Senior Diversity & Talent Manager at Osborne Clarke, and Richard Fisk, Senior Pro Bono & Inclusion Manager at Addleshaw Goddard. Fiona Fleming, Head of ED&I at Farrer & Co, helped shape the discussion.


The webinar explored the substantial gap between organisational confidence and employees’ lived experience, alongside the hidden energy cost of masking and the risk of neurodivergent traits being misinterpreted as performance problems. It also considered what practical support looks like in firms: stronger manager capability, better workplace-needs assessments, inclusive meeting and workflow design, psychological safety and a strengths-based understanding of cognitive difference.


The full replay of Supporting Neurodivergence in Law is now publicly available.


Vicarious Trauma and Psychosocial Risk

The second webinar, Vicarious Trauma & Psycho-Social Risks in the Legal Profession, was led by Harry Key, Global Specialist Services Director at CiC Wellbeing. It examined the psychological cost of sustained proximity to other people’s distress and trauma, particularly for lawyers and support teams handling difficult evidence, vulnerable clients and emotionally demanding matters.


Harry distinguished vicarious trauma from secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and burnout before considering the organisational conditions that can increase or reduce risk. Workload management, caseload balancing, reflective supervision, structured debriefing, peer support, manager training and psychosocial risk assessment all featured as parts of a more credible response.


The full replay of Vicarious Trauma & Psycho-Social Risks in the Legal Profession is also publicly available.


Continuing the Conversation in London

Both webinar themes will continue at the third annual Legal Wellbeing London, hosted by Clyde & Co on 16 September 2026. The programme brings together law-firm leaders, in-house counsel, wellbeing professionals and specialists to examine leadership accountability, culture under pressure, professional standards, psychological risk and sustainable performance.


Fiona Fleming will contribute to Supporting Neurodivergence in the Legal Industry, which will examine how firms can improve psychological safety, communication, flexible working, workflow design and manager capability. Harry Key and CiC Wellbeing will feature in Best Practice in Supporting Psychological Risk in Legal Roles, exploring existing support structures and the circumstances in which more specialist intervention may be required.


Legal Wellbeing: London

LONDON · 16 SEPT 2026

Early Bird: Confirm your place by 31.07.26 and save £300 use code WBLONDON


Taken together, the new Legal Wellbeing platform, the publicly available webinar replays and the London conference create a connected programme of resources and discussion.


The aim is to help the profession understand hidden psychological pressures more clearly and translate that understanding into better-designed systems, stronger leadership and more sustainable working environments.


For more: https://www.legalwb.com/

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