Module 3

How closely to supervise: matching support to the person, the task and the stakes

The hardest question in supervision is how much. Too little and a junior is left with a task beyond them and no help; too much and a capable person is smothered. There is no single right answer, because the right amount depends on who is doing the work, what the work is and what is at stake, and it changes over time. A new trainee on a first attendance needs a different supervisor from a fifth-year associate drafting a routine agreement, and the same fifth-year on a novel, high-value dispute needs something else again. A useful way of thinking about it, familiar from the study of leadership, is that supervisors should vary their style with the readiness of the person for the task: directing those who are new to it, coaching those who are learning, supporting those who can mostly do it and delegating to those who have shown that they can. This module sets out the four styles, the factors that decide between them, how to plan check-ins, how to supervise at a distance and what to do about non-lawyers and under pressure. The Supervision Level Planner in the labs turns six facts into a starting style with check-ins, review points and warnings. All the people are invented.

General education on supervising legal work and giving feedback, using invented people, firms and matters. It is not legal or employment advice, and it does not state the professional or employment rules of any country. Those differ and change: check the rules that apply to you and take advice.