Why Burnout Happens to In-House Legal Teams
During my years as General Counsel and through my work with the ITGC community, I've seen talented lawyers leave the profession because the pressures of in-house practice became unsustainable. In fact I experienced it myself first hand, 90 days in as first legal hire at a rapid scale tech company (because I said yes to everything!!).
But enough about me. Understanding why burnout happens is the first step toward preventing it, and I want to help you avoid it before it goes that far.
Here are the key factors that contribute to burnout in in-house legal teams.
Team Size
Your legal team is too small. Whether you are one person or 50, you don't have an army of support staff like at a law firm. You are under-resourced and have to make do with what you've got.
This resource constraint means you're constantly juggling priorities, wearing multiple hats, and trying to be everything to everyone. Unlike law firms where there are paralegals, junior associates, and administrative staff to handle routine tasks, in-house lawyers often find themselves doing everything from complex contract negotiations to basic administrative work.
Negative Bias
People bring their previous bad experiences with lawyers and tar you with the same brush. Sadly, some simply do not respect lawyers. They don't trust you, think you're slow, see you as the police, or view you as a fee-extracting vampire that doesn't care about business. They think you only say "no."
This negative perception creates an uphill battle from day one. You're constantly having to prove your value and overcome preconceived notions about what lawyers do and how they think. It's exhausting to fight these stereotypes while also trying to do your actual job.
Professional Ethics
Your profession is heavily regulated and scrutinised. You are duty bound to do everything in a way that complies with your ethical obligations. You are an officer of the court first, before all else. Very few non-lawyers realise any of this, or that it is a constant source of pressure in everything you do.
This ethical framework means you can't always take the path of least resistance or give people the answer they want to hear. You have professional obligations that sometimes conflict with business objectives, creating internal tension and stress.
Long Hours
Working long hours across multiple timezones and the associated lack of sleep to meet service levels and business needs is a reality of in-house legal practice. This takes its toll if you don't get enough downtime.
The global nature of modern business means you might be on calls with the US team at 11 PM, then back online at 7 AM for the APAC team. The "always on" culture of tech companies compounds this problem, making it difficult to establish healthy boundaries.
People Think You're a Robot
This is a form of negative bias. As a lawyer, you are resilient, confident, tough and opinionated. You are paid by your company to be this way. But that doesn't mean you don't have feelings or need to manage your mental health.
The expectation that lawyers should be emotionally bulletproof means people rarely check in on your wellbeing. You're expected to handle stress, criticism, and pressure without showing any signs of strain. This emotional labour is rarely acknowledged or supported.
Colleagues Aren't Lawyers Anymore
This is the best bit about in-house life! But the downside is that most of the people you work with outside the legal team don't understand how much you are being asked to do with so few resources, or how complex and stressful your work can be, or how any of it affects your mental health.
While it's refreshing to work with business professionals rather than other lawyers all day, it also means you lack colleagues who truly understand the unique pressures of legal practice. You might be the only person in your office who understands the weight of professional liability or the complexity of regulatory compliance.
End of Quarter (EOQ)
Enough said! The intense pressure of EOQ, when deals must close and revenue targets must be met, creates a perfect storm of stress. Everything becomes urgent, everyone needs legal review immediately, and the pressure to say "yes" to questionable terms increases dramatically.
These periods of intense activity are followed by little to no recovery time before the next quarter's pressure begins building.
That Final Trigger
It could be any one of these factors or something else entirely, but there is always one short-term trigger that sends you over the edge into burnout territory.
Maybe it's the third consecutive weekend you've worked, or the executive who questions your judgment on a matter you've handled hundreds of times before, or simply the realisation that you haven't taken a proper lunch break in weeks. The final trigger is often small, but it's the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Recognising the Warning Signs
Burnout doesn't happen overnight. It builds gradually through a combination of these factors until it becomes overwhelming. Recognising the warning signs in yourself and your team members is crucial:
Chronic exhaustion that doesn't improve with rest
Cynicism about work and colleagues
Feeling ineffective or questioning your competence
Physical symptoms like headaches or insomnia
Increased irritability or emotional reactions
Breaking the Cycle
Understanding these causes is the first step toward addressing burnout in legal teams. It requires systemic changes, not just individual resilience. Teams need adequate resources, supportive leadership, realistic expectations, and recognition that lawyers are human beings with the same needs for rest, respect, and professional fulfilment as everyone else.
The legal profession's culture of "toughing it out" needs to evolve. We need to create environments where seeking help is seen as professional development, not weakness, and where sustainable practices are valued over unsustainable heroics.
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