You are about to spend most of your waking week with a supervisor. Check who it is before you sign. This guide is for lawyers from trainee to about three years PQE. The pay is easy to compare. The support takes more work.
What does good supervision look like in practice?#
Good supervision is a named person who sees your work, tells you what to fix and has the time to do it. It is not an open door and a hope. Think of a Tuesday at a conveyancing desk. You draft the completion statement. Your supervisor reads it before it goes out. You talk through two points. That is supervision.
In practice it has six parts.
- A named supervisor, introduced before or on day one.
- A fixed meeting, weekly at first, as well as questions asked as they arise.
- Review of your work before it leaves the building, in proportion to your experience.
- Feedback on the actual document, not just "fine".
- A clear line between what you may sign off and what needs approval.
- Protected time for training, and a way to say you are at capacity.
SRA guidance on supervision treats questions and escalation as part of good practice. It talks about encouraging questions from supervisees and being clear about what needs approval. Ask whether the firm does that, and watch how the interviewer reacts when you ask.
What does the SRA expect of supervision?#
The SRA expects firms to have an effective system for supervising clients' matters, and expects solicitors who supervise others to do it properly. The rule is general, and the guidance says there is no single model.
Here is what we read on sra.org.uk on 22 October 2026.
- Code of Conduct for Firms, paragraph 4.4: "You have an effective system for supervising clients' matters." Paragraph 4.3 requires firms to ensure managers and employees are competent to carry out their role. They must also keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
- Code of Conduct for Solicitors, paragraph 3.5: where you supervise or manage others providing legal services, you stay accountable for their work and you must effectively supervise work done for clients. Paragraph 3.6 requires you to ensure the people you manage are competent to carry out their role.
- SRA guidance on effective supervision (updated 12 June 2026): there is no single model of supervision. A trainee needs a higher proportion of their work checked than someone with a long record. Face-to-face supervision can work especially well when someone is new to the role or the area of law. A supervisor with their own fee-earning caseload has less time to supervise. Putting arrangements in place is necessary but not sufficient.
- Three years: the guidance says authorised firms must have regulated work supervised by at least one person who has practised as a lawyer for at least three years.
The SRA also publishes illustrative case studies, not real firms. In one (workplace environment case study 3), a newly qualified litigation solicitor was given too many cases without adequate support. The SRA found the firm did not have adequate supervision arrangements in place for newly qualified staff. In another (effective supervision guidance, case study 6), one solicitor with their own caseload supervised ten paralegals and looked at their work every few months. The SRA said it would not consider that effective.
If you are working towards qualification, the SRA says qualifying work experience is two years full-time or equivalent, in up to four organisations. A solicitor or a compliance officer for legal practice must confirm it. Ask who will confirm yours.
For the older training contract route, SRA guidance advised formal appraisals every six months. That page dates from September 2021 and does not cover the SQE. Use it as a prompt for a question, not as a rule.
What does the research say about support and staying?#
It says many people in law work beyond their contracted hours, and that many who manage others have not been trained to. It cannot tell you about one firm. LawCare's Life in the Law 2025 survey ran from January to March 2025. Legal Futures reported 1,541 individuals working in law and 82 organisations took part. The sample was self-selected, and LawCare's page gives no breakdown by PQE.
54.6%
of respondents with managerial responsibilities had received training to support them in managing people
31.3%
of people who managed others said their targets or billable hours were adjusted for management time
1,541
individuals working in law answered the survey, alongside 82 organisations
Read the first two figures together. A supervisor needs training and time. A large minority of the managers surveyed had not been trained, and fewer than a third had their targets adjusted for the time. That is no reason to avoid a firm. It is a reason to ask your supervisor how much time they have for you.
- Their current workplace56.2%
- The legal sector32.1%
Source: LawCare, Life in the Law 2025 (fieldwork January to March 2025, self-selected sample)
LawCare also reported 59.1% of respondents with poor mental wellbeing and 78.7% working over their contracted time. We mention them for context. They do not mean your first role will be like that. They do mean that asking about hours, support and what happens when you are struggling is reasonable.
What should you ask at interview?#
Ask about the person, the time and the numbers. Pick the six that matter most to you and write the answers down.
About supervision
- Who will review my work, and how often will we meet?
- What proportion of my work is checked before it goes out?
- How many people does my supervisor supervise, and do they carry their own caseload?
- Who do I go to when my supervisor is out, or in a completion?
- What can I sign off alone, and what needs approval?
About the work and the role
- How many matters would I hold by month three, and who sets the number? If you are in conveyancing, read how many live files is too many.
- What does a typical week look like?
- Why is the role open, and what did the last person in it do next?
About training and review
- What training is planned, and is the time protected?
- When is my first review, and what is it measured against? If there is a probation period, ask the same of that. Our guide to moving jobs after the unfair dismissal change lists what to get in writing.
- If I am working towards qualification, who confirms my qualifying work experience?
Notice how they answer. A supervisor who says "good question, let me show you" is giving you an answer. One who says "we will see" is giving you another.
On this siteSee roles that show pay and working patternEvery Wilson Mannion advert states the pay or earnings basis, the working pattern and the date. Compare roles on the numbers, then ask the supervision questions above.Browse rolesWhat are the warning signs in an advert or interview?#
The warning signs are vagueness about who supervises you, how many files you will hold and why the role is open. Any one of them can have an innocent reason. Ask about it plainly.
What to be careful about
- The advert does not mention supervision or training
- "Hit the ground running" or "work unsupervised" with no detail
- No pay shown, or "competitive"
- The role has been open for months, with no explanation
- Your supervisor is not at the interview
- Nobody can say how many files you will hold
- Questions about support get a cool reception
- The offer is verbal only
What to look for
- The advert names the team, the supervisor's level or the training on offer.
- A stated period of support before you carry a caseload alone.
- Pay and working pattern on the advert.
- A reason the role is open, and a start date.
- You meet the person you would report to.
- A figure, or a range, and who adjusts it.
- Questions are welcomed and answered with detail.
- The offer is in writing and matches what you were told.
Our guide to reading a legal job advert explains common phrases and the question to ask about each. If you suspect a role is not live, see ghost jobs and how to tell a real vacancy. Pay matters here too. The reasons are in why legal job adverts should show the salary.
What should you ask the firm's other juniors?#
Ask to speak to someone one or two years ahead of you, and ask about their week, not their opinion of the partners. The people who do the work know how supervision works in practice. Some firms will arrange this after the interview. A firm that will not may have a reason, but it is worth noting.
Ask the junior:
- When did you last get stuck, and what happened?
- How often do you sit down with your supervisor?
- How long does it take to get your work reviewed?
- What training have you had since you joined?
- Do people who join here tend to stay, and where do those who leave go?
What should you ask a recruiter?#
Ask what the recruiter knows about the supervisor, the team and the role, and whether the advert's pay and hours are the real ones. A recruiter who has spoken to the firm should know more than the advert says. Ask:
- Who would I report to, and how long have they supervised juniors?
- How long has the role been open, and why?
- Is the pay on the advert the pay on offer?
- Will you tell me the firm's name before my CV goes anywhere?
More in what to ask a legal recruiter before you send your CV. At Wilson Mannion, every advert shows the pay or earnings basis, the working pattern and the date. A named person looks after you, and it costs lawyers nothing. No CV goes to a firm without your say so.
How do you compare two offers on support, not just salary?#
Score both offers on the same factors, write down what each firm told you, and let support decide when the pay is close. Salary is a number on a page. Supervision is a set of promises. The table turns promises into things you can compare.
| Factor | Why it matters | What to get in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Named supervisor | Someone is accountable for your work | Name, level and how many people they supervise |
| Review rhythm | Feedback arrives early | Weekly or fortnightly meeting, first review date |
| Caseload | Too many files crowds out supervision | Expected number of matters at month three |
| Training | Skills grow with time set aside | Planned sessions and protected hours |
| Hours and pattern | Pay for the hours you actually work | Contracted hours and the working pattern |
| Probation and notice | Terms in the first months | Length, conditions, notice each way |
| Progression | You can see where this goes | Stated criteria for the next step |
Add a pay comparison alongside. The salary guide gives context for most areas, such as conveyancing, residential property and private client. If the offers are within a few thousand pounds, the support column should decide. If one is far higher, ask what the extra pay is paying for.
The candidates page explains how we work with lawyers.
What should you tick off before you accept?#
Tick off the following before you accept, and keep a copy. Print this page if it helps. If you cannot tick an item, ask. If the answer is no, you have learned something.
If you are weighing an offer and want a second view, you can talk it through with a named person. It is a 20-minute confidential screening call on Microsoft Teams and it costs you nothing.
On this siteTalk it through before you acceptA 20-minute confidential screening call on Microsoft Teams. It costs lawyers nothing, and no CV goes anywhere without your say so.Book a callSources
- SRA: Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs (section 3, service and competence)
- SRA: Code of Conduct for Firms (section 4, service and competence)
- SRA: Effective supervision guidance (updated 12 June 2026)
- SRA: Workplace environment case studies (updated 2 May 2023)
- SRA: qualifying work experience for candidates
- SRA: supervising trainees (legacy training contract route, page dated September 2021)
- LawCare: Life in the Law 2025 (fieldwork January to March 2025)
- Legal Futures: Poor mental health rife in the profession, says major study (2 October 2025)
This is general information, not legal advice. Where a figure comes from another organisation, the source is above, and we say when it is dated.