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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The full article has published in the November issue of Family Law. 

 

 

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Read the full article here.