Michael Jackson

The Professional Wellbeing Charter was launched last September at a major summit and now has the backing of Ireland’s largest law firm.

Signatories commit to improving leadership and championing behaviours, skills and practices that promote and enable professional wellbeing at all levels, and across all roles, in their workplaces.

Michael Jackson, managing partner at Matheson, said: “The tenets of the Law Society Professional Wellbeing Charter very much resonate with our commitment to mindful business practice and our firm values, which include partnership, respect and diversity.

“We support the Charter’s clear vision for leaders in the workplace to champion professional wellbeing and to promote positive workplace culture – and in fact we believe that it is essential for the behaviours and practices envisaged by the Charter to be led from the top.”

The move follows Matheson last year becoming the first Irish-headquartered law firm to sign up to the Mindful Business Charter, which was set up by financial services businesses and law firms in the UK and Ireland.

Mr Jackson said: “We have subsequently designed and offered a range of wellbeing resources and programmes at the firm and we have seen first-hand how committing to the tenets of mindful business and wellbeing can benefit our colleagues, our clients and the firm itself.

“The progress we are making in this area also assists us in continuing to deliver on our stated mission to support people in making meaningful contributions to our clients, to each other and to our society.”

James Cahill, president of the Law Society of Ireland, said: “The intention of the Law Society’s Professional Wellbeing Charter is to organise our profession’s values around professional wellbeing and to provide a forum for solicitor firms to commit to these publicly and collectively.

“The Charter offers firms the opportunity to create a positive workplace culture and sends a message to employees that their wellbeing is valued. It can also facilitate attracting and retaining talented people.

“By signing the Charter, firms are proactively committing to improving leadership and championing behaviours, skills and practices that promote and enable professional wellbeing at all levels and across all roles.

“It guides us to uphold values like trust, respect, honesty, fairness, compassion and psychological safety in the workplace, while also tackling real challenges like holding unprofessional behaviour to account and addressing stigma around mental health in our profession.”

He added: “The Law Society is committed to the wellbeing of our members. We are encouraged that many firms have already signed the Charter and look forward to working collectively to prioritise wellbeing within the solicitors’ profession.”

Mr Jackson concluded: “I commend the Law Society of Ireland for its leadership on this important initiative; the Law Society Professional Wellbeing Charter has particular relevance at this time, as firms continue to seek to support their employees’ wellbeing in the face of the additional challenges arising from the pandemic.”