Supervision – Law Society (Jul24)

This practice note is the Law Society’s view of good practice in this area, and is not legal advice. For more information, see the legal status.

Introduction

Who should read this practice note?

This practice note should be read by:

any solicitor in legal practice or employment in England and Wales who is responsible for the supervision of another individual in legal practice or employment, and
any supervised solicitor, compliance officer for legal practice (COLP), trainee or Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) candidate undertaking qualifying work experience (QWE) who would like to know what they should expect from their supervisor

This practice note is aimed primarily at private practice, although some of the information will also be relevant in the context of in-house practice.

What is the issue?

The proper supervision of work is a legal and professional requirement.

Everyone has a role to play in the proper management of your practice and must ensure that the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) requirements are met.

Good supervision has been shown to be the most important factor in motivating and retaining staff. However, the skills needed to be a successful solicitor do not necessarily encompass those needed to be a good and effective manager.

This practice note provides advice on how to ensure that you can be both a good solicitor and a good supervisor and gives those being supervised guidance on how to ensure they receive effective supervision.

Why is supervision important?

In a day-to-day sense, supervision means the management of people and their activities.

Good supervision is beneficial in many ways. It:

provides confidence in the quality of services provided to clients
recognises and supports independence from client interests
minimises the practice’s risk by supporting the timely and error-free production of work
provides a valuable opportunity to help individuals develop their skills and knowledge
impacts positively on job satisfaction, which will assist with recruitment and retention at your practice
supports the supervisor’s business by improving motivation, efficiency and profitability

Characteristics of good supervision

As a supervisor, you are role-modelling not only good working practices but also high ethical standards.

It is important to set aside time to talk about ethical matters to those you are supervising, both at a theoretical level and as situations arise in their practice.

We recommend the use of scenarios or examples to help bring to life concepts which otherwise might seem distant to the newest entrants to the profession, whether these concepts relate to conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, raising concerns and whistleblowing or other matters of ethical interest.

It is also important to encourage trainees to engage with practical ethical issues if appropriate at an early stage, with the correct support: for example, how to share complex news or advice with clients at a vulnerable or distressed time.

Supervision procedures may vary depending on the:

type of work being undertaken in your practice (for example, some may carry specific legal supervision requirements, such as immigration or claims management work)
size of your business and number of offices
number of individuals under supervision
complexities of the work and the experience required
number, experience and qualifications of the employees
different working practices of groups or individuals

Nonetheless, there are several key steps that can be taken to ensure good supervision.

Regular feedback

Supervisors should devote adequate time and attention to the person that they are supervising, and should be available to meet with them regularly to assess progress and offer feedback.

This ensures that the supervised person feels supported and that you are confident in both their work and development. Good feedback gives people the opportunity to:

learn from their actions
understand their strengths
focus their efforts to improve

Give praise and recognition where it is due and ensure areas that need improvement are discussed.

You should encourage the acknowledgement of mistakes and the learning opportunities that can arise from this.

You should agree to a clear schedule for feedback meetings. This will ensure regularity and certainty for the supervised person.

Formal appraisals should be combined with more regular, informal ‘catch-up’ meetings.

The junior staff member should also feel that they can approach the supervisor with questions or concerns about their work at any time.

Regular meetings and an ‘open door’ policy will help to create an environment that encourages the supervised person to ask for help, find solutions to problems and take responsibility for their self-development (see 5.3 below).

Tailor your supervision

Supervision of work should be tailored to both the:

level of experience or seniority of the supervised staff member
type of work being supervised

For example, trainees or those undertaking QWE may need much greater supervision than a person who has many years of experience in practice.

You should anticipate that substantive advice and communication to clients generally requires a much greater level of supervision than more routine or administrative work, depending on the skills of the individual.

Effective delegation

Delegation can be an important part of providing effective supervision when supervising the work of a more inexperienced person.

Successful delegation involves:

checking that the individual has the capacity to take on the work
briefing well by providing sufficient information to enable them to do the task effectively
explaining the background to the work and that individual’s part in it
being clear on the results you are expecting and the deadlines
giving sufficient authority and resources to get the work done
encouraging the individual to exercise initiative and ask questions
giving guidance without interference or pampering

These points are expanded below.

Brief the supervised person effectively. A proper briefing is important when assigning work.

You should give clear instructions and check that they have been understood.

Provide sufficient information and factual background about a case or matter and ensure that the supervised person is aware of any specific requirements in relation to the way that the particular client likes to work (for example, within a client service agreement).

The briefing should also include goals and deadlines.

You may find it useful to give written instructions to more junior staff members or where you are giving instructions on a new issue.

You should state if a task must be done in a particular way and explain any working preferences, rather than leaving it to the other person to guess. Examples include:

when you expect progress reports
the times you are available to answer questions and offer guidance
whether supervised individuals may make contact with the client directly, or should check with you first

Agree whether the matter should be reviewed by you on a regular basis (for example weekly), or only when certain ‘trigger points’ have been reached on the file.

Check that the individual has understood what you would like them to do by asking them to summarise the task and how they plan to tackle it.

You should provide both a clear explanation of expectations relating to individual pieces of work, and an overview of the supervised person’s general objectives in relation to their role.

It is helpful for them to understand how their work fits into the wider vision of the practice as a business.

Delegate work that encourages development. Staff are most motivated when they have some level of responsibility and challenging work that involves a high degree of client contact.

While this type of work may not be available at all times, you should keep it in mind when delegating work.

Supervisors should provide work which enables supervised individuals to develop their skills.

They should pitch work at a level that will ensure that the supervised individual feels appropriate pressure to perform, but not out of their depth and fearful.

It can take time to brief someone properly and, although initially it may be quicker to perform the task yourself, you can increase the chances of a payoff for your time invested the next time you delegate this type of work.

Support ongoing learning and development

You should encourage continuing competence activities and learning and development through training, whether at formal courses or through office mentoring, based on the objectives for the role of the individual being supervised.

The SRA sets out the requirement to maintain competence at paragraph 3.6 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs and paragraph 4.3 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms.

It will also ensure they feel supported and encouraged in their work.

You should work with them to identify skills gaps and opportunities for development in or exposure to certain areas or competences.

You can use the statement of solicitor competence as a guide for these discussions, particularly where the individual is undertaking QWE, but also as part of their ongoing competence responsibilities.

Our guidance on continuing competence may be useful in supporting this.

Regulatory requirements

Firms should ensure they’re aware in full of the latest SRA Standards and Regulations related to supervision (which replaced the guidance in the SRA Handbook).

The SRA Standards and Regulations are split into several sections. Five of the most important ones relating to supervision are:

Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs
Code of Conduct for Firms
Authorisation of Firms Rules
Authorisation of Individuals Regulations
Education, Training and Assessment Provider Regulations

Some of the key points are summarised below, but the core obligation is that an authorised body must have at least one manager or employee for this role for trainees, or must obtain the services of an external individual if not.

It is recommended that in the latter case the latest advice from the SRA is checked on the criteria for this role.

See paragraph 9.4 of the Authorisation of Firms Rules

Definition and conditions

The supervisor must have practised for a minimum of three years and supervise the work undertaken by the authorised body or, if the body is a licensed body, the work undertaken by them that is regulated by the SRA in accordance with the terms of their licence.

They must be enrolled as:

a solicitor, barrister or advocate of the UK
an authorised person other than one authorised by the SRA
any other regulated legal profession specified by the SRA for the purpose of this definition

Following Brexit, the supervisor should also be able to be in a position to practise in England and Wales.

The supervisor must also not have been:

struck off the roll
suspended from practising as a solicitor without the SRA’s written permission to supervise, or
disqualified from the relevant role

Qualifying work experience (QWE)

What is qualifying work experience?

Individuals wishing to be admitted as a solicitor, through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), need to complete two years of qualifying work experience (QWE).

QWE can be any work which meets the following criteria:

any experience of providing legal services which gives an individual the opportunity to develop some (at least two) or all of the competences outlined in the statement of solicitor competence, including professionalism and ethics
may be obtained in England or Wales or overseas
must be at least two years’ full time or the equivalent on a part-time basis
can be obtained in up to four separate organisations providing legal services – there is no minimum or maximum prescribed length for each individual placement
can be obtained in a current or a previous role

Each period of QWE must be confirmed by one of the following:

the COLP (if the organisation has one)
a solicitor of England and Wales in the organisation (they do not have to hold a practising certificate)
another nominated solicitor of England and Wales outside the organisation but with direct knowledge of the candidate’s work

QWE cannot be confirmed by a foreign qualified lawyer, or a barrister, unless they are also a solicitor or COLP in England and Wales.

Solicitor or COLP confirmation

For each period of QWE, the solicitor or COLP confirming the QWE has to confirm:

the details and timescale of the work experience
that it provided the opportunity to develop some or all of the prescribed competences for solicitors
that no issues arose during the work experience that raise questions over the candidate’s character and suitability to be admitted as a solicitor

The solicitor does not have to decide whether the individual has met the prescribed standard required for admission as a solicitor. That is assessed through the SQE 1 and 2 assessments.

Guidance on good quality QWE

Good quality QWE should maximise the benefits to your organisation and comply with your Principles and Code of Conduct obligations.

Firms should provide opportunities for individuals to:

carry out diverse and varied work that enables them to gain exposure to a wide range of the competences assessed in SQE2
regularly reflect on their performance and identify both strengths and areas of development; for example, in a law firm this could be through regular appraisals and one-to-one meetings with a supervisor
be supported in their work experience – you should discuss from the outset with individuals doing QWE what your expectations are as an organisation, and what they expect from their placement and future employment
develop their professionalism and gain exposure to ethical issues
learn from experienced role models at your organisation by seeing how they behave ethically and in accordance with the Codes of Conduct in difficult cases

To be effectively supervised during the placement, you should be clear from the outset:

who is responsible for supervising individuals doing QWE
how the supervisor will satisfy themselves about the quality of individuals’ work
how they will provide formative feedback
how they will check that the individual is getting access to a proper range of tasks
how will they be supported in collating any relevant evidence and recording their QWE throughout their placement
how their placement will be confirmed by a solicitor or COLP

Additional standards and protocols

Practice management standards

Practices which have been awarded quality marks such as Lexcel and the Legal Services Commission’s Specialist Quality Mark are obliged to meet the practice management standards relating to supervision procedures and processes.

See the Lexcel v6.1 standard for legal practices (PDF 423 KB)

Specifically, in relation to supervision, the Lexcel England and Wales v6.1, Standard for Legal Practices, Section 5: Risk management, requires that there must be a named supervisor for each area of work undertaken by the practice (section 5.3).

It also requires that practices must have a procedure to ensure that all personnel, both permanent and temporary, are actively supervised (section 5.9). Such procedures must include:

checks on incoming and outgoing correspondence where appropriate
departmental, team and office meetings and communication structures
reviews of matter details in order to ensure good financial controls and the appropriate allocation of workloads
the exercise of devolved powers in publicly funded work
the availability of a supervisor
allocation of new work and reallocation of existing work, if necessary

Encouraging good supervision

Support from senior management and from human resources (in larger organisations) is required to ensure good supervision practices are followed across your business.

There are a number of institutional changes that you can make to encourage good supervision.

Provide training for all supervisors

You should consider providing training for supervisors to enable them to perform their supervisory duties well. Training could include:

people management and development skills
delegation skills
coaching skills
communication skills

Consideration should also be given to providing training in the management of associates to all new and existing partners.

Senior associates who are responsible for the supervision of more junior persons should also receive guidance on how to supervise.

Review and clarify the supervisors’ role

You should ensure that all supervisors in your practice understand the benefits of good supervision, are aware of their responsibilities and are prepared to fulfil them.

Establish guidelines or protocols that outline and clarify exactly what is expected of supervisors at your practice. A supervision protocol may:

outline the practice’s philosophy regarding supervision, for example, why it is important and who it is of benefit to
define the role and obligations of supervisors within the practice
outline the type of work that may be delegated, and to whom
outline the approval procedures for delegated work – certain types of work, for example, document review and legal research, may not need, or be suitable for the closer supervision involved in, for example, advice to clients
provide details of the type of training that supervisors are expected to have completed, where appropriate
set out how supervision should be recorded so that the fact that supervision has taken place is reflected on the file
set parameters for ‘peer review’ of work carried out by partners (see below)
provide guidance to junior persons on what they can expect from their supervisors and what their reciprocal responsibilities are

Encourage those being supervised to ask for help

Supervision is a two-way process. Even with all the right structures in place, it is not always possible for a supervisor to know when specific assistance is needed by the person being supervised. Those being supervised should also take responsibility for their own supervision and development.

Practices should encourage this by making it clear that they expect those being supervised to identify when it is appropriate to refer an issue to a supervisor, and to seek appropriate guidance and supervision.

An open and supportive atmosphere will foster a culture in which asking for help is seen as a natural part of personal development.

A mentoring system (see below) may also assist.

Conduct regular supervision performance reviews

Just as supervisors should have regular feedback sessions with the persons they are supervising, they should also be provided with regular reviews of their own performance.

This can be achieved through meaningful and transparent annual appraisals, as well as less formal systems for monitoring progress throughout the year.

Where possible, ‘360 degree feedback’ may be sought, to take in feedback from the supervised person as well as from the supervisor’s superiors.

Provide adequate time for supervision duties

Supervisors may find it difficult to fulfil their responsibilities to the persons they are supervising due to their own workload commitments and billable hours target.

It is important that supervisors are given sufficient time to effectively carry out their people management activities.

Encouraging supervisors to delegate appropriate work to the supervised person will have the two-fold result of freeing up more time for their supervisory role, and will provide the supervised person with more responsibility and greater job satisfaction.

Lead by example

On occasions, it may be appropriate for work undertaken by a partner to be subject to ‘peer review’ by another partner.

This may be the case if, for example, the matter is of particularly high value, or involves a novel point of law or complex drafting.

The culture of the firm is important in making the practice of peer review acceptable and encouraged. It can also be used as a way to identify learning needs as part of the continuing competence requirements a solicitor must meet.

More information

Other products and services

Practice Advice Service

We provide support for solicitors on a wide range of areas of practice.The Practice Advice Service can be contacted on 020 7320 5675 from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.

Law Society Publications

View our publications

Supervision: good practice for remote supervision of junior staff and trainee solicitors

SRA

The SRA regulates solicitors in England and Wales. It sets the principles and codes of conduct that those regulated by them have to abide by in order to provide legal services.

Visit the SRA website

See the SRA’s Authorised Training Provider information pack

Supervision and remote working

Many employers now operate a hybrid working model, which requires consideration of how to effectively supervise remotely.

The SRA’s advice

The SRA has asked firms to satisfy themselves that they have appropriate and adequate measures in place to ensure they can effectively supervise their trainees and junior staff.

How this looks will depend on the firm itself.

The term ‘appropriate supervision’ already provides a degree of flexibility for firms. The SRA has stated it intends to be as flexible as possible whilst also making sure the relevant required standards are met for both the supervision of junior staff and the specific requirements for the supervision of trainees.

We’ve produced guidance on remote supervision to support employers, supervisors and those supervised to work in this way.

Go Back