Mental Health & Wellbeing in the Workplace - 2026 Virtual Conference

Introduction

This virtual conference focuses on the practical realities of supporting people in high pressure legal environments, with an emphasis on HR led approaches rather than legal doctrine. Across the programme, you will find out how firms can recognise early signs of poor mental health, build trauma informed cultures, understand the financial impact of burnout, and create psychologically safe teams where concerns can be raised without fear.

Chaired by Beth Pipe, the event is designed for legal professionals in private practice and in house roles who want clear, evidence based guidance on fostering healthier, more sustainable workplaces.

Conference Agenda

This live and interactive 4 hour conference will cover the following:

10:30am-11:30am: Supporting Mental Health in Your Team: What to Look for and How to Start the Conversation

Beth Pipe, Bells Learning Solutions

We all know that we need to be there to support the mental health and wellbeing of those in our teams, but how exactly do we do that? In this session we will identify the signs to help you spot mental health issues in the team and how to start a productive conversation.

• Watching out for the early indicators that someone may be struggling - what are the signs you should look for?
• How to open up the conversation sensitively - practical and productive approaches to sensitive conversations
• Protecting yourself - positive steps to keep you on the straight and narrow while supporting the mental health of those in your team

Morning Break

11:40am-12:40pm: The Need for Trauma Informed Workplaces?

Kirsty Lilley, Mental Wellbeing Specialist, CABA

Mental ill health continues to be a growing problem within workplaces and contributes to increasing sickness absence levels, reduced wellbeing and performance.

It has been estimated that more than 70 per cent of the general population has been exposed, either directly or indirectly, to a traumatic event, where a traumatic event is defined as actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violence. This will play a significant role in the development of mental health difficulties which can arise from workplace conditions, outside work contexts and early life experiences.

In recent years, our understanding of trauma has grown enormously. There is both a greater awareness of its prevalence in society and deeper knowledge of its long-term effects on survivors. With this has come recognition of the role organisations and institutions often play in perpetuating trauma. Trauma survivors are often at risk of re-traumatisation. Burnout within workplaces continues to be an ever-growing phenomenon.

The broad understanding of trauma responses as an adaptive response to external conditions places responsibility on wider society and workplaces to respond in sensitive and compassionate ways and at the least, to work to prevent unnecessary re-traumatisation of those effected.

As we consider the longer-term repercussions of the pandemic, there is growing recognition that trauma-informed approaches are now needed more than ever.

In this session we will consider:

• Definitions of Trauma and trauma informed workplaces
• An understanding of ‘Burnout’
• Practical steps forward and the six recommendations for implementing trauma informed workplace protocols

Break for lunch

1:40pm-2:40pm: Burnout in Law Firms: The Financial Cost and the Interventions that Work

Leah Steele, Searching for Serenity

Burnout in law is still often misunderstood as something that affects other people, when in reality it's a structural, financial issue impacting profitability in most, if not all, firms.

Historically treated as a hidden cost, in this session Leah will show you where those costs already sit in your balance sheet, which interventions deliver the strongest return on investment and why some popular approaches fail to move the needle, or even make things worse.

Learning outcomes:

• Identify the real, measurable costs of burnout within your firm
• Distinguish between burnout interventions that deliver a measurable return on investment and wellbeing initiatives that are largely symbolic
• Use data and evidence to make informed decisions about where to invest time, money and management attention to reduce losses and increase profitability

Afternoon break

2:55pm-3:55pm: Psychological Safety in Law Firms: Moving Beyond High Billers and Bad Behaviour

Alicia Collinson, Thrive Law

This interactive session explores what psychological safety means in law firms, why traditional legal cultures often struggle with it, and how the SRA now expects firms to create environments where people can raise concerns, challenge behaviour and speak up safely without fear of negative consequences.

By the end of the session, participants will:

• Understand the core elements and stages of psychological safety and what it is (and what it is not!)
• Recognise how psychological safety links directly to wellbeing, supervision, ethics and regulatory risk under the SRA guidance and Code of Conduct
• Identify practical steps they can take to improve psychological safety within their teams and firm culture

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.