Lawyers bear significant responsibility for their clients' welfare. A lawyer's actions may affect a client's health, freedom, employment, financial welfare, family relationships, and community standing. In some circumstances, legal representation is a matter of life or death. At the same time, law practice is complex. Lawyers constantly suffer the stress of wondering if they have considered all the angles on a client's problem.
Clients add to the stress of law practice. Many clients consult lawyers after a traumatic event: a personal injury, job loss, family break up, or criminal charge. Lawyers exposed to their client's suffering may experience secondary trauma.
Lawyers who can't cope with these stresses harm clients as well as themselves. For that reason, the ability to cope with the stresses of law practice is an essential competency for new lawyers.