Decision making for lawyers

This is a practical webinar on making better decisions as a lawyer.

Every day we make decisions about clients, risk, ethics, supervision, settlement, staffing, technology and business strategy. Some decisions are routine. Others carry serious regulatory, financial, reputational or human consequences.

Introduction

As lawyers, we are paid to think and advise. We are rarely trained in decision-making and clear thinking. The distance between our thinking and decision-making explains a good deal of what goes right and wrong on files, in supervision and in the management of firms.

Most decisions a fee earner takes in a working day are taken quickly on pattern recognition built up over years; in the age of AI, how will your junior team acquire this pattern recognition?  Pattern recognition based on experience is usually a strength: experienced Judgment is fast and frequently right. It becomes a liability when the file in front of you resembles the last one but is not the same or the pattern varies, and your team lack the skills to identify the divergent factors.

For those who supervise and lead in law firms, the problem changes shape. You are no longer only making decisions; you are designing the conditions in which other people make them. The SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors make you accountable for work carried out through those you manage and requires you to supervise that work effectively. That is a question of decisions as much as of supervision.

Decision-making and Judgment are also starting to attract regulatory interest. In 2026, the SRA consulted on strengthening its continuing competence approach, including a proposal that solicitors take part in a minimum of three hours of facilitated group discussion of ethical dilemmas each year, with the stated aim of building a culture of ongoing focus on ethical decision-making. If the proposals proceed in their current form, they would take effect from the 2027/28 practising year. Short- to medium-term decision-making and Judgment matter.

This session is delivered by Paul Bennett, partner at Bennett Briegal LLP and a risk and compliance solicitor acting for law firms in England and Wales. It is practical rather than theoretical, and is aimed at those who have to make decisions, live with them, and explain them afterwards.

What You Will Learn

By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:

• Recognise decision-making as a core legal risk, Judgment and leadership issue.
• Identify common pressures and biases that affect professional Judgment.
• Apply established decision-making frameworks to legal, supervisory and business problems.
• Improve supervision by helping others develop better Judgment and developing good escalation habits.
• Build practical systems that reduce avoidable risk and support better leadership decisions.

Who Should Attend

Solicitors at all levels of experience, supervisors and team leaders, COLPs, COFAs, managing partners/CEOs and practice managers. The session assumes no prior knowledge of behavioural science or decision theory. It is pitched at those who make decisions on files, decisions about other people’s work, and decisions about the firm.