Women Leaders in Law Fellowship for Susan Rowe
Borrin Foundation Women Leaders in Law Fellowship
Susan’s plan
Susan is using the Fellowship to gain a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology, researching how legal workplaces can shift from reactive mental health risk management to proactive prevention. Proactive organisational measures prevent workplace harm before it occurs and are the most effective controls for managing mental health and wellbeing risks, compared with reactive strategies such as counselling. Recent studies reveal that Aotearoa New Zealand lawyers face significantly higher rates of depression and psychological distress than other professions and international peers. Although the legal profession’s mental health crisis is well documented, little is known about the strategies used to manage psychosocial risks within Aotearoa New Zealand. Across several interconnected studies, Susan is developing New Zealand’s first evidence-based psychosocial risk management tool for legal employers, mapping current national practice, and identifying the organisational, economic, cultural, and behavioural barriers that are preventing the use of proactive management strategies. After completing her PhD, Susan intends to translate her findings into practical guidance materials and training for legal organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand, helping them apply the research.
About Susan
Susan Rowe spent 27 years as a lawyer, including a decade as a partner at a national law firm specialising in litigation, employment, and health and safety law. In 2025, Susan retired from practice and enrolled as a PhD candidate at the University of Canterbury. Susan values voluntary service as a way to give back to the profession. She is a former member of the Film and Literature Board of Review, an independent body that reviews classifications issued by the Office of Film and Literature Classification. She was a Convenor of a New Zealand Law Society National Standards Committee, which determines costs and related conduct complaints. In addition, she served for many years on the Canterbury-Westland District Law Society Standards Committee, the Canterbury-Westland Employment Law Committee, and the Canterbury Women’s Legal Association. Following a diagnosis of depression, Susan has dedicated her time to normalising conversations on mental health and wellbeing across the legal profession. She has spoken extensively at conferences about her mental health journey, believing that sharing her story openly can help reduce stigma in the profession. Susan tries to balance her studies by practising yoga and pickleball.
Grant Amount
$23,916 in 2026-2029
“This Fellowship allows me to apply practical insights from my experience with depression, alongside academic research, to help change how our profession understands and manages mental health risks at work.”