The Early Career Lawyer Capability Framework was developed by the VLSB+C to provide clarity on the capabilities and skills we expect lawyers to develop by the end of SLP.

The capability framework is designed to improve the experience of SLP for both supervisors and supervisees. You’re not obligated to comply with the framework, but it will assist:

• supervisees to understand the capabilities they need to develop to support independent legal practice
• supervisors to think about suitable work for their supervisee and identify development opportunities.

Structure

The capability framework consists of five overarching capability domains, with several sub-capabilities underneath. Each capability has at least one example of a performance indicator to help evaluate development of the capability.

We understand that early career lawyers enter the profession in a variety of roles, organisations and areas of practice – so the capability framework is broad enough to encompass these diverse experiences.

Development

The capability framework was developed in response to feedback from supervisees and supervisors. They told us they wanted more guidance about the capabilities lawyers should develop during SLP, as well as practical resources to support effective SLP relationships.

The capabilities and performance indicators were drawn from extensive research on lawyer competence, as well as consultation with lawyers and professional bodies.

Supporting resources

We recommend supervisors and supervisees use this capability framework together with our supporting resources:

• Supervision Plan Template
• Reflective Practice Template

For more information on early career lawyers go to the new lawyers section of this website.