Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Spectrum definition

What does Spectrum mean? In legal and finance practice, Spectrum refers to National Westminster Bank plc v Spectrum Plus Ltd [2005] 4 All ER 209, the leading House of Lords decision on characterising security over receivables (book debts). It confirms that labelling a charge as “fixed” is not determinative: a fixed charge requires the secured creditor to exercise real control over both the debts and their proceeds, typically by requiring payment into a blocked account from which the chargor cannot withdraw without consent. If the chargor may pay into an ordinary account and use the funds in the ordinary course, the security is a...

Mental Health in Legal Teams: Causes, Legal Duties, Business Case and Practical Steps to Reduce Stigma and Protect Well-being

Published by a LexisNexis In-house Advisor expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines how widespread stress is and the threats to mental health across the legal sector, explains why mental health and wellbeing deserve serious attention, and sets out steps you can take to safeguard employees’ wellbeing. It also examines the effect of stigma around mental health and practical tools for tackling such stigma.

Mental health and lawyers

A substantial and growing body of studies and commentary now documents the markedly higher rates of psychological distress among lawyers than in the general population. Illustrative sources include the 2021 IBA report, ‘Mental Wellbeing in the Legal Profession—A Global Study’, and the 2023 Mindful Business Charter White Paper, ‘Raising the Bar: Addressing the state of mental health in the legal sector’. The causes are complex, but are commonly viewed as centring on three areas:

personal characteristics often seen in lawyers—whether those traits draw people to law, are fostered by legal work, or both—including perfectionism, a tendency to catastrophise, putting others’ needs ahead of one’s own, self-esteem dependent on others’ perceptions, a strong conscience, moral strength, and a heightened sense of responsibility
the nature...

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Richard Martin

Mindful Business Charter

Richard is the CEO of the Mindful Business Charter, a cross business initiative to reduce the stress we experience at work and which is a key cause of workplace mental illness. He is also a principal consultant at workplace consultancy Byrne Dean and is on the IBA Wellbeing Commission. He formerly chaired the steering committee of the Lord Mayor of London’s This is Me campaign which uses story telling to break down the stigma associated with mental illness. He is a qualified coach and mental health first aid instructor. His first career was in law, becoming a senior employment law partner before mental breakdown in 2011 left him in hospital for a month and unable to work for two years. His experience of breakdown and recovery is the subject of his memoir, This Too Will Pass – Anxiety in a...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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