What does it really take to change the culture of a profession? In this episode of Trial Tested, host James Brown sits down with the Honourable George Strathy, former Chief Justice of Ontario, for a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation about mental health in the legal profession. Chief Justice Strathy opens about his mother’s lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder, a colleague’s near-crisis moment that was met with remarkable compassion, and his own experience using alcohol to self-medicate anxiety during his years in practice. Together, he and James explore why stigma persists, why culture change must come from the top, and what law firms can do right now to build environments where lawyers can thrive. This episode also marks the release of the ACTL Mental Health Awareness Committee’s new white paper — a set of concrete recommendations for law firm infrastructure change to support lawyer wellbeing.
