Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Solicitors’ mental health help expands to couples
A mental health service provided freely to all NSW solicitors will now be opened up to couples counselling following a relaunch today.
President of the Law Society of NSW Ronan MacSweeney said the new Solicitor Wellbeing Service (SoWell) will enable any solicitor with a NSW practising certificate to access free counselling for themselves, or to include their spouse or life-partner.
“Research indicates that legal professionals have significantly higher incidence of anxiety, depression and substance use disorders than the general population. Because these factors can and do weigh on personal relationships, expanding SoWell to couples counselling is a common-sense decision for solicitor wellbeing,” Mr MacSweeney said.
“The expansion of these services to couples has the potential to help improve solicitors’ primary personal relationships whether they are subject to the stressors inherent in many areas of legal practice, or for any other reason.”
The Law Society of NSW has been providing free mental health support to NSW solicitors since the establishment of the Solicitor Outreach Service (SOS) in 2020. Mr MacSweeney said that old maritime emergency acronym may have given the impression that that the primary purpose of the service was for times of mental health crisis.
“We want to make absolutely clear that SoWell is an ongoing source of free, confidential mental health support for NSW solicitors, giving them access to up to three free psychology counselling sessions per financial year. Through this small change, we are sending a message to the profession that year-round mental health maintenance is a responsibility that we all have to ourselves, our loved ones, and even our clients,” Mr MacSweeney said.
“Crisis counselling remains critically important and this 24/7 unlimited free confidential telephone counselling service for all NSW-based solicitors will continue under the SoWell banner.”
Since the beginning of this decade, Presidents of the Law Society have identified the wellbeing of solicitors as one of their most important priorities for each of their terms. Mr McSweeney praised their leadership in elevating this issue as a significant one for the entire profession.
“We regard this issue as so important that it has now been cemented into the Law Society’s Strategic Plan 2025-2028 as an ongoing priority of this organisation. The establishment of SoWell delivers on that commitment,” Mr MacSweeney said.
While the Law Society funds SoWell, this completely confidential service is delivered entirely by a third-party provider which holds participating solicitors’ details under strictest security. NSW-based solicitors wanting to access SoWell can do so by 1800 592 296 or book an appointment here.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Damien Smith | Director, Media and Public Relations
The Law Society of New South Wales
M: +61 417 788 947 | E: Damien.Smith@lawsociety.com.au
