In the heart of imposing skyscrapers where Colombia's legal destinies are woven, a silent epidemic is dismantling the mental health of an entire generation of lawyers. Burnout syndrome has found its most fertile ground in elite law firms, transforming from a work condition into a true professional scourge.

Law, traditionally perceived as a career of prestige and personal fulfillment, has become a battlefield where survival is measured by the ability to withstand exhausting workdays and almost inhuman pressures. Young professionals enter with dreams of success and quickly find themselves trapped in a devastating cycle of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.

The statistics are devastating. While the most prestigious legal firms boast of million-dollar billings, their professionals crumble under the weight of unattainable expectations, as they must be capable of working endless hours without showing signs of fatigue.

The hourly billing model has transformed into a perverse control mechanism. Monthly targets far exceed the legal working hours, pushing professionals into a state of chronic exhaustion. It is not uncommon to find lawyers working more than 14 hours daily, systematically sacrificing their physical and mental health on the altar of productivity.

The burnout symptoms in these firms are so normalized that they almost seem part of the job description. Depression, generalized anxiety, sleep disorders, and extreme exhaustion have become daily companions for these professionals. A chilling fact is that many psychiatrists report that a significant number of their patients come from the same elite law firms.

Job interviews have transformed into true endurance interrogations. Candidates are evaluated not only by their professional capacity but by their willingness to absolutely renounce their personal life. Questions about family relationships, romantic life, and availability to work without limits have been normalized as part of the selection process.

The organizational culture functions like a Darwinian ecosystem where only those willing to sacrifice their well-being survive. Phrases like "sleeping is overrated" or comparing work to a "cake-eating contest" reveal a mentality that turns the professional into a mere productive resource.

The consequences go far beyond the individual realm. Professionals who physically and mentally collapse, convulsing in gyms while their first concern is responding to an email, represent the most dramatic symptom of a deeply sick system. Health is completely subordinated to productivity, generating a vicious cycle of exhaustion and self-destruction.

Burnout in Colombian law is not an individual problem, but a symptom of a dysfunctional labor structure. Law firms operate under the premise that talent is an infinite resource, deliberately ignoring signs of exhaustion and deterioration.

The new generation of lawyers is no longer willing to remain silent. Little by little, the voices of those who have experienced this model are emerging, challenging a culture of normalizing professional suffering. The transformation will not come from top to bottom, but from within the profession itself.

The promise of a brilliant future works like a hook to attract talent willing to sacrifice everything for a fragment of professional recognition. The robe, once a symbol of justice and wisdom, has transformed into a straitjacket threatening to suffocate the true spirit of lawyers.

Regarding this, La Silla Vacía conducted a very interesting report, I invite you visit the link