Supervision for family lawyers – the myths dispelled

Sophie Barrett Family Law Supervisor

Supervision as a reflective practice is still a relatively new concept to the legal profession. Here I seek to dispel some common misperceptions in first responses to offering it: 'We've got counselling when we need it'; 'I'm not struggling and anyway I haven't got time'; 'My team has group reflective practice'; and 'It costs too much ...'.

There is no substitute for experiencing supervision yourself to truly understand its value. However from a purely pragmatic and financial point of view there is now a body of research supporting the very significant potential savings to be made with it. These more than mitigate the huge costs to legal organisations of absenteeism presenteeism and recruitment; and sustainably improve productivity efficiency and resilience. Having been a family lawyer myself for over 20 years in a range of firms and now a qualified supervisor required to have my own supervision I wish that I had had this form of supervision throughout my own career. If you are curious please try it for yourself.

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