Pressure on lawyers is intense, and it goes deeper than the day-to-day stressors of generating work product. It is also the consequence of self-imposed tension from “Imposter Syndrome,” nagging feelings of not belonging, and fears related to capabilities and the pace of advancement. All of this is aggravated by prolonged mental-health and addiction crises in the legal profession, which are, in turn, exacerbated in the pandemic era.

These interrelated issues often drive lawyers to leave their firms. In fact, approximately 70% of new lawyers who leave do so because of issues involving professional skills and a perception of how they fit into the culture. In addition, many lawyers incessantly wonder, and often doubt, whether their performance is up to a firm’s standards or those of the profession as a whole. They exist daily in fear that they will be “found out,” that the firm and their peers will discover they are not “real” and capable attorneys.