Social Justice Forum - Young lawyers and mental health

Recent research by the University of Sydney Brain and Mind Research Centre has indicated that lawyers suffer a disproportionately high rate of depression and other mental health problems. Up to 1 in 3 solicitors and 1 in 5 barristers suffer from depression.

Although it is not entirely clear what factors contribute to such a high rate of mental trauma, it is clear that this is a phenomenon affecting young lawyers and students as much as senior practising lawyers. A recent study reveals up to 40% of law students suffer mental distress, enough to warrant a medical certificate.

The ANU Law Students Society in collaboration with Beyond Blue (the national depression initiative), the ANU Counselling Centre and the Centre for Mental Health Research are hosting this free event to encourage young lawyers and law students to learn more about mental health; why it is affecting the profession, how to identify risk factors, where to turn for help.

All welcome.

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President’s Welcome

Welcome to the ANU Law Students’ Society website. This page is an important source of information about upcoming events, initiatives and current issues across the six LSS portfolios: Events, Education, Careers, Administration, Social Justice and Finance.

The website is also serves as a gateway to a number of important resources including our Exam Answer Guide (a substantial collection of student exam scripts), previous editions of our quarterly publication ‘Peppercorn’, Careers Guides, and a number of other useful publications and links.

As you will gather from browsing this page, the LSS exists to enhance your university experience and advance your interests within the College. Our social events provide you with an opportunity to unwind and interact with your peers. Our careers workshops provide you with an opportunity meet representatives from firms and aims to guide you through the graduate and summer clerkship application processes. Our careers publications provide you with useful information about various career pathways and prospective employers. The education services we offer are an important educational tool and, along with our program of forums and lectures, provide you with valuable information and insights. Finally, our competitions are a great way to get a taste of what it will be like to negotiate and represent clients once you leave uni. However, this is just a brief overview of what we have to offer. I would encourage you to have a good look at the pages for individual portfolios to get a better idea of what we do.

One particular part of this website to which I would draw your attention is the ‘Education News’ section on the ‘Education Page’. Changes to College and University policy, practices and offerings affect all law students - often in very significant ways. While we also utilise the E-Brief and our Facebook page to keep you updated about education issues, this section of the website is open to all ANU law students. It aims to provide you with vital information about proposals that might affect your education and the LSS position on these issues. Our representatives are your voice on these issues. We cannot do our job effectively without input from you. If you have an opinion about abandoning word counts in favour of reference inclusive page limits, raising the entry mark for honours, or any of the educational issues raised in this section of the website please share it with us by emailing lss@anu.edu.au or lsseducation@anu.edu.au.

Finally, I would like to thank our sponsors for 2008. So far, Baker & McKenzie, Freehills and Gilbert + Tobin have kindly agreed to be Premier Sponsors. We thank them on behalf of all of our members for their contribution. Without their support, the LSS would not be able to provide its members with many of the services and events which they currently enjoy.

The LSS office is located on the Fellows Oval side of the Faculty (Opposite the Law Common Room) and any general enquires can be directed to lss@anu.edu.au.

The LSS is also on Facebook at: http://anuedu.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2255409378.

I look forward to meeting you at some point during the year!

Matt Sherman , President