The CCCA worked with Mondaq, the global standard for AI-enabled content marketing for professional services firms, to conduct an expansive survey of Canadian in-house counsel lawyers between March and May 2021. Designed in partnership with an advisory board composed of eminent in-house counsel from across Canada, the survey aims to provide up-to-date insights into current hot button issues and future outlooks for the Canadian in-house counsel profession.
Based on over 460 survey responses, it is evident that COVID-19 continues to present many challenges to Canadian in-house counsel, leading to significant employee wellbeing challenges:
- The biggest concerns revolved around staff-related matters stemming from the pandemic: remote working, the deterioration of mental health, health & safety issues, employee stress levels and staff burnout.
- 71% of in-house counsel have seen an increase in their work-related stress and anxiety levels in the last year.
- Increased levels of in-house accountability (with 60% of in-house counsel taking on additional responsibilities including compliance, ethics, investigations and ESG) as well as the heightened demand for in-house legal services (including 55% of participants expecting an increase in demand for data privacy; 46% increase in demand for risk & compliance; 39% increase in demand for supporting operational delivery) are contributors to the increased levels of work-related stress and anxiety.
The survey results provide a clear a call to action for legal department leaders to put in place programs which support employee wellbeing and retention.
Read the full report.