What No One Talks About: Burnout Among Racialized & Black Women Lawyers
- Nada Johnson
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
When Success Comes at the Cost of Self
For many racialized and Black women in law, success often looks like competence, resilience, and long hours.
But behind the courtroom wins, corporate briefs, or courtroom appearances, there is another story, one of exhaustion, depleted emotional reserves, and silent struggle.
Recent data shows that burnout among lawyers is not just common; it may be the norm. Yet for racialized and Black women, the pressures can carry extra weight.
🧠 The Data: Legal Profession Is Burning Out
Here’s what current research tells us:
💼 Burnout is widespread in law
A 2021 Bloomberg Law survey found that lawyers reported feeling burned out more than half the time, the highest level since the survey began (Bloomberg Law, 2021; American Bar Association, 2022).
⚠ Burnout is linked to serious mental health risks
A peer-reviewed study showed that higher burnout scores among legal professionals were significantly associated with increased odds of substance misuse (Ogbonnaya et al., 2022).
📚 The structure of legal work fuels burnout
Research consistently shows that the nature of legal practice contributes directly to emotional exhaustion:
High workload demands
Long hours and chronic over-engagement
Limited autonomy or control in day-to-day work
These factors strongly predict burnout in lawyers (Nickum, 2023; Indianapolis Bar Association, 2022).
👩🏾⚖️ Racialized women face added pressures
Studies indicate that racialized and Black women may be especially vulnerable to stress, depressive symptoms, and the cumulative strain of gendered racial microaggressions (Erving, 2022; American Bar Association, 2020).
✨ What this means
Burnout in the legal field isn’t simply an individual issue — it’s a systemic risk, especially for racialized and Black women who are navigating:
Identity-based pressures
Subtle and overt discrimination
Heightened expectations to perform
Representation burdens in predominantly white spaces
These experiences intensify emotional fatigue and make sustained wellbeing much harder to maintain.
What Burnout Looks Like for Racialized & Black Women Lawyers
For a racialized or Black woman in law, burnout often shows up as a convergence of factors:
💙 Constant vigilance and “code-switching.”
Navigating microaggressions, subtle biases, and the pressure to prove competence again and again.
💙 Emotional labour inside and outside work
From clients, colleagues, or communities, plus managing caregiving or family responsibilities.
💙 Perfectionism and overwork
Pressure to “go above and beyond” to be taken seriously, be heard, or avoid stereotypes.
💙 Poor rest, internalized stress, and guilt
Finding it hard to disconnect, rest, or say “no,” even when exhausted.
💙 The silent weight of legacy and community expectations
Carrying not just a personal career, but representation for their communities.
These pressures, many invisible on paper, can lead to deep weariness: emotional, mental, and physical.
The Emotional Toll — What Women Say
In therapy, many high-achieving women describe:
🌿 “I’m constantly ‘on.’ I can’t let walls down.”
🌿 “Even when I win, I feel drained.”
🌿 “I’m always proving myself, at work, at home, in my community.”
🌿 “I’m helping others heal, but who helps me when I’m broken?”
For racialized and Black women, burnout can feel like living in “survival mode”: always performing, rarely resting, carrying a weight that feels both personal and collective.
What Healing and Support Can Look Like
At NJCCS, healing from burnout doesn’t mean dropping all ambition. It means building sustainable wellbeing around ambition, identity, and self-care. Some core approaches include:
🌿 Creating a space for vulnerability and rest, without guilt.
🌿 Processing identity-based stress, race- and gender-related pressure, and emotional load in a culturally aware, trauma-informed setting.
🌿 Building boundaries: with clients, colleagues, work hours, and personal life.
🌿 Redefining success beyond productivity, valuing emotional health, relationships, and personal growth.
🌿 Developing self-care routines that acknowledge the dual pressures of the legal world + racialized identity.
Burnout doesn’t mean failure. It’s a signal, a call to care for yourself, holistically.
NJCCS Is Here to Walk With You
If you’re a racialized or Black woman working in law and you feel the weight of overwork, identity-related pressure, or emotional exhaustion, you deserve rest, support, and healing.
At NJCCS, I support women navigating:
Workplace stress, burnout, and overwork
Race- and gender-based pressures in legal environments
Emotional labour, both professionally and personally
Work-life imbalance, boundary-setting, and identity strain
You don’t have to carry it alone.
With warmth,
Nada Johnson, MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist / trained Family Mediator / EMDR Trained Therapist / Certified Racial Trauma Clinician / Mental Health & Sexual Violence Consultant / Professional Speaker
🌍 Website: www.nadajohnsonservices.com
📩 Contact: info@nadajohnsonservices.com
Nada Johnson Consulting & Counselling Services – Online phone and video sessions available
Village Healing Centre: 240 Roncesvalles Avenue
Please share this post to support another racialized or Black woman in the legal field who may be navigating these pressures alone. 🤝
References
American Bar Association. (2020). Left out and left behind: The experiences of women lawyers of color. American Bar Association. https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2020/06/report-examines-challenges/
American Bar Association. (2022). Surveyed lawyers report they experience burnout in their jobs more than half the time. American Bar Association Journal. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/journal/articles/2022/surveyed-lawyers-report-they-experience-burnout-in-their-jobs-mo/
Bloomberg Law. (2021). Attorney workload and burnout survey results. Bloomberg Industry Group. (Referenced through ABA Journal summary.)
Erving, C. L. (2022). Gendered racial microaggressions, psychosocial resources, and mental health among Black women. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 63(3), 405–420. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9581464/
Indianapolis Bar Association. (2022). Burnout in the legal profession: Understanding the risks. Indianapolis Bar Association. https://www.indybar.org
Nickum, M. (2023). Burnout among lawyers: Effects of workload, latitude, and over-engagement. BMC Psychology, 11, 190. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10281412/
Ogbonnaya, U. C., Thiese, M. S., & Allen, J. (2022). Burnout and engagement’s relationship to drug abuse in lawyers and law professionals. Behavioral Sciences, 12(7), 215. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9283266/
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