When training to become a lawyer, we are taught to succeed. Many of us are perfectionists who strive for excellence, and when we are not perfect, we blame ourselves. Focusing on blame when things go wrong means we miss valuable opportunities to learn and grow from failures. The best lawyers are those who accept that failure is inevitable, and when it occurs, they stop, examine, and actively learn from their mistakes.
Reflecting on mistakes in depth, beyond initial recrimination, can reveal underlying problems. For example:
- A junior solicitor is working very long hours drafting a legal opinion. However, it transpires that there is a fundamental error in the advice, which is detrimental to the case. The first reaction of a hard-working solicitor is often to blame themselves, and to endeavour not to repeat the mistake. But after looking closer, it becomes clear that the junior solicitor is overworked, and that they are likely to continue making mistakes despite their best efforts unless their workload is lightened.
- A trainee is putting together papers to counsel. However, when counsel receives the papers, important emails are missing from the bundle. At first, this appears to be the trainee’s mistake. But after looking closer, it transpires that the electronic filing method that the firm is using has a flaw.
In both scenarios, in a blame-focused culture, the analysis would stop after the mistake had been made. But both times, further and deeper analysis shows that there are wider issues at play – such as overwork or faulty IT systems. Stopping and fixing these issues will ensure that solicitors do not make further mistakes due to fatigue, and that other counsel do not miss vital emails due to the IT problem which has now been identified. By asking ‘what happened?’ instead of ‘who made a mistake?’, this allows for improvement and learning moving forwards.
Why do junior solicitors not speak up about problems?
Many junior solicitors fear the consequences of speaking up, for reasons such as the impact highlighting mistakes may have on their career. Leaders must create an open and honest culture that makes people feel comfortable with admitting and learning from their mistakes. This requires a commitment to encouraging reporting failures – no matter their size – and to take the time to work out what went wrong and what steps can be taken to resolve the problem, ensuring it does not happen again.
The focus should not be on punishment, which discourages further reporting and can generate fears about career prospects, but instead on constant learning and improving. Reflecting on failure should be considered a positive as it demonstrates both a desire to improve and be proactive. One way to do this is through thorough appraisals, although ideally reflection should occur far more regularly throughout the year. Another is to instigate ‘matter reviews’ at the end of each case, in which those who worked on a case discuss what went well and what went badly in order to capture knowledge which was gained during the case.
I do not underestimate that working to understand the root causes of failure can be difficult. It can be emotionally unpleasant to review your own mistakes, especially for those who take pride in the quality of their work and may subsequently find examining their own fault damaging to their self-esteem. It is far easier to avoid analysing mistakes, and to brush off past errors, but this will not be beneficial in the long run. Instead, we must shift our mindset to see failure as an inevitability from which we should learn. By prioritising learning from our mistakes, we will grow as solicitors and succeed in the future where others continue to fail.
Suzanna Eames is an associate at Farrer & Co and chair of the Junior Lawyers Division
