REFLECTICE PRACTICE SUPERVISION FOR LAWYERS
A confidential, independent space to reflect on professional practice, judgement and responsibility.
Legal practice demands professional competence, sound judgement and constant responsibility.
The Considered Partnership provides independent professional supervision for lawyers across all areas of legal practice, a space outside the organisation to step back from the demands of practice and examine the work itself.
Supervision provides an opportunity to reflect on how you are practising, the judgements you are making, the relationships and dynamics you are navigating, and the responsibilities you carry.
It can be particularly valuable when the work is complex, the stakes are high or there is no straightforward answer.
WHAT IS PROFESSIONAL SUPERVISION?
Reflective Practice Supervision is regular, structured time with an experienced supervisor from outside your organisation, to reflect on your work as a lawyer.
It is long established in professions such as social work, healthcare and psychotherapy, where judgement and relationships sit at the heart of the work. Lawyers are increasingly recognising its value too.
It is different from the supervision of trainees and junior colleagues within a firm. Your supervisor has no line-management role and no stake in your caseload. The focus is you as a practitioner: how you are practising, the judgements you are making and the responsibilities you carry.
In a session, you bring whatever is most live in your work. That might be a difficult matter, a challenging client relationship, a decision you are unsure of, or a pattern you have started to notice. It might also be the impact the work is having on you. Cases involving abuse, children or high conflict can stay with you, and that can shape judgement in ways that are hard to see from the inside. Together, we look at the situation, your response to it and the wider professional context. You leave with a clearer view, and the decisions remain yours.
Sessions usually last around an hour, once a month, remotely or in person.
When the work is complex, perspective matters.
Legal practice can involve situations that are technically complex, emotionally charged, professionally sensitive or difficult to resolve. When you are closely involved in the work, it can be difficult to step outside it and see what may be influencing your judgement.
Supervision creates that space.
It provides an opportunity to examine the situation, your response to it and the wider professional context, without the pressure of having to arrive immediately at an answer.
What Reflective Practice Supervision offers
Practice - The work itself: how you are practicing day to day.
Reflection - Time to step back and examine what is happening.
Perspective - A view from outside the organisation and the matter.
Judgement - Clearer thinking about the decisions you make.
Responsibility - Space to consider what you carry, and how you carry it.
What Supervision can help you explore
• Professional judgement and decision-making
• Complex or ethically difficult matters
• The quality of professional practice
• Professional boundaries, responsibility and accountability
• Relationships, dynamics and organisational pressures
• The use of professional authority and power
• Difficult conversations and situations that are hard to resolve
• The emotional and relational dimensions of professional practice
• Recurring patterns, uncertainties or concerns in your work
• Situations where there is no obvious right answer
FAMILY LAW POSITIONING
Rooted in family law. Relevant to every area of legal practice.
Alanna’s supervision practice is rooted in her work supervising family lawyers and barristers, and the particular professional, relational and emotional demands family law can bring.
WHAT SUPERVISION PROVIDES
Supervision is not about being given the right answer.
It creates the conditions to think more deeply about the situation, recognise what may be influencing your judgement, consider different perspectives and remain accountable for the decisions you make.
The emphasis is on careful reflection, professional accountability and sound judgement.
Sometimes, the most useful thing is to have somewhere outside the organisation where you can think properly about the work.
Your Supervisor
Alanna Henry FCIPD
Alanna Henry FCIPD is a professional supervisor for lawyers and an executive coach.
Her supervision practice is rooted in family law. She holds a Diploma in Family Law Supervision from FLiP Faculty and has supervised many family lawyers and barristers.
She supervises lawyers across all areas of practice, offering an independent, reflective and professionally challenging space to step back from the demands of practice and examine the
work itself.
Supervision with Alanna is a space to explore client work, professional relationships, judgement, responsibility and the wider factors that influence how lawyers practise. Her style
is warm, thoughtful and collaborative, balancing support with constructive challenge, while keeping a clear focus on professional practice and accountability.
She brings more than twenty years’ experience in senior leadership, HR and organisational development, is a non-executive director and trustee, and is an ICF-accredited executive coach.
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE SUPERVISION FOR FIRMS AND CHAMBERS
Reflective Practice Supervision can be arranged for individual lawyers or commissioned as part of a wider approach to professional development and support.
External supervision offers something different from line management, mentoring or internal wellbeing provision: an independent space outside the organisation where lawyers can reflect openly on the realities of their professional practice.
Used well, it is not simply a response to difficulty but a regular investment in the quality and sustainability of practice. It can support:
• reflection on the quality of practice and professional judgement
• earlier recognition of pressures, patterns and blind spots
• complex client relationships and professional boundaries
• ethical and professional responsibilities
• continuing competence, learning and development
• sustainable practice and retention.
Supervision does not replace existing professional, management or wellbeing structures. It complements them by creating dedicated space to think about the practice itself. Because supervision is a CPD activity, it can sit within your professional development budget.
There is a wider business case too. Deloitte’s 2024 research estimates that poor mental health costs UK employers around £51 billion a year, and found an average return of nearly £4.70 for every £1 employers invest in supporting their people’s mental health.
Supervision is not a mental health service, but it is regular and proactive by design: a place to address pressures before they become harder to manage.
COMMISSIONING SUPERVISION FOR YOUR FIRM OR CHAMBERS?
Supervision can be arranged for individual lawyers or as an ongoing programme for a team or organisation.
We can discuss the number of participants, frequency, format and practical arrangements to create an approach that fits your organisation.
SUPERVISION AS CPD
Supervision as continuing professional development
Professional supervision is a CPD activity. Time spent in supervision can be recorded as part of your continuing professional development.
Regulators expect lawyers to reflect regularly on their practice and development needs, not only on technical legal knowledge. For solicitors, this is the SRA’s continuing competence approach; for barristers, the Bar Standards Board’s CPD scheme.
Supervision provides structured, recordable time to do exactly that: reflecting on practice, professional judgement, responsibility and learning needs.
For firms and chambers, this means supervision can sit within the professional development budget, as an investment in the quality of practice.
HOW SUPERVISION WORKS
Supervision is usually provided through a one-to-one session of around one hour, typically once a month.
Sessions can take place remotely via a secure digital platform such as Microsoft Teams, or in person at an appropriate private location agreed in advance.
There is no need to arrive with an agenda. Some of the most useful sessions begin simply with what is on your mind.
For firms and chambers, the frequency and number of sessions can be tailored to the needs of the organisation and its lawyers. Supervision can be arranged as an ongoing programme or commissioned for a defined period.
Individual lawyers can also arrange supervision on a pay-as-you-go basis.
At the outset, we will agree an approach that provides appropriate continuity while fitting the practical needs of the individual, firm or chambers.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND INDEPENDENCE
Supervision provides a confidential space to reflect openly on professional practice.
Where supervision is commissioned by a firm or chambers, the purpose and boundaries of the supervisory relationship are agreed at the outset, including the nature of any information that may be shared with the organisation.
The supervisory relationship remains independent of line management. The focus is on creating a space where lawyers can examine their practice honestly, thoughtfully and without the expectation of having to arrive with an answer.
Client Testimonials
SUPERVISION TESTIMONIAL
"Your wisdom and support has been a game changer for me. I thought at my age I knew what I thought about pretty much anything, but during our sessions I had several instances of having to take a breath and really soul-search for my view or reaction, which was so refreshing. You have such a great balance of challenging, but gently and in a supportive, non-judgemental way, and always making it clear why you were challenging."
Family Law Barrister
SUPERVISION TESTIMONIAL
“I was extremely fortunate to receive supervision from Alanna. From the outset, she was incredibly kind, caring and supportive. I was always comfortable speaking openly with Alanna. She provided thoughtful, constructive feedback that helped build my confidence and professional judgment by encouraging me to reflect on my practice. Alanna also went over and above checking in with me between sessions and her genuine care as a supervisor was evident. I would wholeheartedly recommend Alanna to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, dedicated and supportive family law supervisor.”
Partner, Taylor Walton
SUPERVISION
TESTIMONIAL
- Coming Soon -
Q&A
Who is professional supervision for?
Lawyers across all areas of legal practice: solicitors, barristers and legal executives, from early career through to partners and senior practitioners.
I don’t practise family law. Is supervision still for me?
Yes. Alanna’s supervision practice is rooted in family law, but the focus is on you as a practitioner, not the technical detail of your area of law. That applies across every area of practice.
Is this the same as being supervised at my firm?
No. Supervision of trainees and junior colleagues is part of line management. Professional supervision is independent of your organisation, and your supervisor has no stake in your caseload or career progression.
How often do sessions take place, and where?
Usually around an hour, once a month. Sessions take place remotely via a secure platform such as Microsoft Teams, or in person at a private location agreed in advance. Individual lawyers can also book on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Is supervision confidential?
Yes. Where a firm or chambers commissions supervision, what may be shared with the organisation is agreed clearly at the outset.
Can our firm or chambers arrange supervision for our lawyers?
Yes. Supervision can be arranged for individuals, groups or as an ongoing programme, with frequency and format agreed to suit your organisation.
Does supervision count as CPD?
Yes. Professional supervision is a CPD activity, and time spent in supervision can be recorded as part of your continuing professional development. It gives you structured time to reflect on your practice and identify learning needs, which your regulator expects you to do.
How is supervision different from coaching?
They share an approach but have different purposes. Supervision helps lawyers reflect on how they are practising: their judgement, responsibilities and professional relationships.
Coaching helps leaders think about how they are leading: their decisions, relationships and direction.