Members can now take spouses or life partners to no-cost counselling
The Law Society of New South Wales has announced that its relaunched Solicitor Wellbeing Service (SoWell), a mental health service freely available to all NSW solicitors, has expanded to couples counselling.
“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,” said Ronan MacSweeney, president of the NSW law society, in a media release.
According to him, under the new SoWell, any solicitor with a practising certificate in the state can access free counselling on their own or with a spouse or life partner.
MacSweeney explained that the expanded offering seeks to help solicitors improve their primary personal relationships, regardless of the source of their stressors.
“Research indicates that legal professionals have significantly higher incidence of anxiety, depression and substance use disorders than the general population,” he said. “Because these factors can and do weigh on personal relationships, expanding SoWell to couples counselling is a common-sense decision for solicitor wellbeing.”
MacSweeney noted that NSW solicitors can avail of a maximum of three free psychology counselling sessions each financial year.
The NSW law society noted that it launched the Solicitor Outreach Service (SOS) in 2020 and has offered free mental health support to the state’s solicitors since then.
“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,” MacSweeney said in the law society’s media release.
According to him, while the acronym “SOS” is also relevant to maritime emergencies, the law society’s SOS does not cover only instances in which NSW solicitors are undergoing a mental health crisis. He clarified that SoWell, which the law society funds, provides free and confidential mental health support on an ongoing basis.
MacSweeney highlighted that the law society identified solicitor wellbeing as an ongoing priority in its 2025–28 strategic plan.
“The establishment of SoWell delivers on that commitment,” he said.
Other recent presidents of the law society have likewise included solicitor wellbeing in their priorities for their respective terms. McSweeney commended their leadership in spotlighting this problem impacting the entire legal profession.
In its media release, the law society noted that the third-party provider that delivers SoWell holds solicitor information under the strictest security measures.
