Legal profession most stressful in City: The Priory

The law is one of the most stressful professions in the City and clients are largely to blame, according to Marco Martinez, business development director of corporate services at The Priory.

Reflecting on his experience as a banker, Martinez said the legal profession was arguably more stressful. “It wouldn’t be uncommon for us to be sleeping at a lawyer’s offices over the weekend with a sleeping bag on the floor waiting for a deal to sign off,” he said.

“There aren’t too many other industries that I know where you have that kind of stress over, say, a weekend period and it is client led. It’s the old adage that when a client says jump you usually say how high.”

Martinez made the comments in the July edition of The Lawyer Podcast, which is a radio-style programme available on the internet at www.thelawyerpodcast.com.

The interview follows The Priory’s April launch of a stress management programme specifically for the legal profession that combines education and training with what it describes as talking therapies.

The podcast also features an interview with Trowers & Hamlins senior partner Jonathan Adlington about the firm’s booming Middle East practice and whether the spate of top City firms launching in the region poses any threat to Trowers’ practice.

To listen to the podcast, visit www.thelawyerpodcast.com or download it from iTunes.