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Sarah Jane is a highly experienced and dedicated family law specialist, who strives to achieve the best possible outcome for her clients. Tailoring her approach to each individual client and case, she takes the same approach with , where she is partner, to ensure staff and junior colleagues feel supported and ultimately happy. Demonstrating her commitment to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of both her colleagues and clients, she is a Mental Health First Aid Champion, equipped with the skills to proactively assist those struggling

Sarah Jane tells us how Dawson Cornwell have created a culture of openness and support, encouraging individuals to seek help when needed without fear of judgement or stigma.

What steps does your company take to promote work-life balance, and how is this balance maintained across teams and departments?

At Dawson Cornwell we work in small teams with 3 or 4 solicitors/support staff in each team which means that no one works on their own. Each team has regular meetings to discuss workload and distribute / reallocate work where needs be. Everyone is encouraged to speak up and be honest and the aim is to keep everyone busy but not overworked. If we as managers notice that someone is overworking, a conversation is had and something is done about it whether it means reallocating work or employing additional members of staff. The well-being of our employees is a number one priority for us over and above everything else. We want Dawson Cornwell to be a happy place to work, which we believe it is and we pride ourselves on this.

Do you think technology advancements have reduced stress on employees, reducing the working day and promoting a good work life balance?

Where possible our teams work paperless or at least paper light meaning that all case files are accessible online. This has made a huge difference to the ability for colleagues to work from home or even another jurisdiction which is particularly common as we have a diverse workforce with families all over the world. This means that colleagues can spend less time commuting and spend more time during their day doing what they enjoy. Sadly, the increase in use of mobile telephones can lead to some clients expecting that we will be available 24/7 and we encourage colleagues to have healthy boundaries and make these clear to clients too at the outset of the case, where necessary.

What are your top tips on maintaining a healthy work life balance? 

My number one tip is to have an interest outside of work. Whether this is reading, running, walking the dog or chess. I think it is key to have something that allows you to remove yourself from work on a daily basis, to switch off. Secondly, taking regular breaks away from your desk and ensuring you nourish your body with good food, drink water regularly. Getting enough sleep can also be a key contributor to not only feeling good but enabling you to feel focused during the working day. Thirdly, not being ashamed of saying no to work. If you have a heavy workload you should say so. Taking on more work than you can cope with can not only can ruin existing client relationships, potentially damage new ones but most worryingly cause a negative impact on your own mental health. This in turn can not only take a toll on your work but home life too and it is therefore important to have healthy boundaries. 

What do you think still needs to change in the industry to reduce the stigma around mental health in the legal sector? 

There is still a big taboo around mental health and often individuals are embarrassed to speak openly about struggles with fear of damage to their career. At Dawson Cornwell we have two Mental Health First Aiders who colleagues can speak to confidentially to obtain assistance if they are struggling. Working in family law we are dealing with extremely emotionally charged subjects on a daily basis and it can be a lot. Encouraging more senior members of the team to speak openly about the difficulties they are facing has set a precedent for more junior colleagues to obtain help and demonstrated it is OK to not be OK all the time.

How are employees encouraged to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing outside of work hours, and what support is provided in this regard? 

Extra-curricular activities are encouraged and as a firm we can often be found at a local quiz night, charity event, chambers party, playing netball or baseball or shortly climbing the Welsh peaks together. We encourage colleagues to take time away from their desks and to enjoy their holidays by switching off mobiles and laptops! As we work in teams, colleagues are able to cover holidays easily without individuals feeling the responsibility of having to be available during their breaks.