Jeff Giddings, “The Assumption of Responsibility: Supervision Practices in Experiential Legal Education”

Effective supervision requires responsiveness to students involved, what they have already learned, and what they are affected to learn within their clinical experiences. This paper argues that without an effective supervisor to support and appropriately challenge students, some learning opportunities within the legal workplace will be lost.

In the legal context,

“supervision can involve a range of important dimensions, including: (1) risk management, namely the strong focus of legal practice literature on supervision; (2) enhancing service quality, in terms of accuracy, timeliness, value for money, ethical soundness, suitability for task; (3) mentoring junior staff, in terms of both career and psychosocial support; (4) fostering awareness of ethical and client-focused practices; (5) identifying and supporting staff whose capacity is challenged by a mental illness or some other condition; (6) fostering resilience; and (7) promoting work practices which are sustainable in the long-term” (6-7).

Specifically, the author suggests that effective supervision in the legal clinic context involves a strong focus on student learning while emphasizing client service. Effective supervision requires supervisors to develop an environment where students feel suitably supported and challenged and to focus on developing the student’s understanding of the dynamics and nuance of law-related processes and workplaces. The benefits of effective supervision were succinctly proposed through the author’s literature review, which found effective supervision can improve supervisee communication skills, enhance professionalism, improve patient care, improve staff morale, increase support, increase confidence, and ensure stronger relationships with colleagues.

On the other hand, ineffective supervision can detract from law students’ learning in legal clinics. Without effective supervision, students may fail to gather important information and identify all of the relevant legal issues, potentially harming clients. Moreover, ineffective supervision may lead to unclear directions and explanations, resulting in students failing to learn from their supervisors. It may even adopt poor practices without understanding the importance of modifying their approaches.

As such, supervisors should incrementally expose students in such a manner that will build their understanding and confidence and not overexpose students to particularly challenging matters too early in their development. Moreover, law schools should pay particular attention to ensuring that supervisors understand the underpinnings of the program, including what is expected of them, the learning outcomes for students, and the support provided by the law school.

Moreover, the author introduces the principle of reciprocal professional development, a concept that seeks to promote the constructive engagement of legal practitioners in the supervision of law students. This concept relates to the collaborative learning that can be generated through seminars, workshops and ‘case rounds’, which provide valuable opportunities for students to learn from their peers and supervisors.

Jeff Giddings, “The Assumption of Responsibility: Supervision Practices in Experiential Legal Education” (2014).