Executive summary: Towards a healthy and sustainable practice of law in Canada. National Study on the Health and Wellness Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada, Phase 1

This executive summary presents the main findings and ten key recommendations emerging from the first phase of a national project under the direction of Prof. Nathalie Cadieux, which took place between 2021 and 2022. The results are based on the responses from an overall sample of 7,300 legal professionals working in each province and territory of Canada. This sample was weighted to take gender and law society representation into account, as well as ensure the most accurate and representative portrait of legal practice in Canada. All of the results have been subjected to a diligent statistical analysis that is governed by a highly rigorous methodological and ethical protocol The executive summary is divided into four parts. The first part presents the findings associated with key mental health indicators in the legal profession. The second and third parts discuss the factors that give rise to mental health issues. Through a multidimensional perspective of health and wellness at work, these factors arise from social context, practice context and the individual context in which professionals evoluate. Finally, the fourth part outlines ten major recommendations towards a healthy and sustainable practice of law in Canada.