Law360 Canada Pulse Survey: Lawyers are stressed but satisfied with their careers

Wellness
Written By Ashlan Friesen

The Law360 Canada Pulse Survey was released in November 2025. The survey asks questions related to lawyer satisfaction like compensation satisfaction, work hours, firm culture, a lawyer’s stress, and overall satisfaction. The survey received 263 responses, with an equal split between associates and partners and between males and females.

Stress

The survey results suggest lawyers are experiencing financial stress and work-related stress.

  • Financial Stress

    • 72% said they feel stressed by their financial situation at least sometimes. 29% did not feel stressed financially.

    • 56% said their financial stability was average. 11% said it was poor, and 34% said it was excellent. Partners and lawyers at larger firms were the most likely to claim their financial stability was excellent. 

  • Overall Stress

    • 76% said they were stressed most or all of the time. Only about half of respondents (51%) felt they could manage their daily workload most or all of the time.

Satisfaction

Despite reporting stress, the lawyers surveyed were overall satisfied with their careers and working conditions.

  • Compensation

    • 51% either satisfied or very satisfied with their compensation.

  • Advancement

    • 53% either satisfied or very satisfied with opportunities for advancement.

  • Overall

    • 63% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. 74% were satisfied or highly satisfied with collegiality and collaboration at their firm.

    • When asked, “If you could do it all over, would you still become a lawyer?”, 70% said yes.

Stress Management Remains Important

A legal career comes with high stress and demands, but lawyers are open eyed when it comes to this reality and most would do it all over again. However, being stressed most or all of the time, may make a career in law less sustainable. We also know that stress and poor mental health are the backdrop for many errors made by lawyers. Feeling stressed can lead to poor decision making. Stress impacts overall health and wellness. Resources and education surrounding stress management and overall wellness remain highly important, for both associates and partners.

CLIA Wellness Resources

CLIA recognizes the importance of promoting wellness in the legal profession. CLIA has several resources to assist legal professionals with navigating a stress in their career.

Wellness Toolkit – this is a compilation of wellness resources to assist lawyers, broken down by subject.  The full Wellness Toolkit can be accessed here. For easy access, here are some collections from the Wellness Toolkit by subject:

Blog Articles

Ashlan Friesen
Previous

Wellness Toolkit: Resources for Employers
Next

A Young Lawyer’s Guide to Litigating Adverse Self-Represented Litigants