Our Mission

Our objective is to help lawyers develop self-awareness and relational intelligence in their work, as well as listening skills and empathy, so as to better understand their clients and tolerate the challenges of legal practice. We believe that this in turn will lead to improved client service and a stronger, healthier legal profession.

We provide a forum for legal practitioners to discuss the impact of work and working relationships in a confidential and supportive peer group setting. Our professionally facilitated groups help participants address some of the complexities and challenges faced in day-to-day practice serving clients.

Changing work patterns and increased isolation during the pandemic, much of which has continued with hybrid working, as well as the lack of connection between colleagues and separation from organisational structure, have had a significant impact on an already stressful and pressurised profession. The mental health fallout as highlighted in numerous recent studies presents reputational and business risks for all legal organisations and their clients, as well as a significant individual risk for the lawyer.

The need for better provision of suitable working practices to promote positive and sustainable wellbeing has become a core issue and priority for the legal community. We need innovative approaches which focus on the client relationships at the heart of legal work, and on the personal and professional resilience required to continue carrying out that work with excellence. This is what Balint groups provide: a purposeful forum to discuss the emotional impact of work, which is rarely addressed in legal practice.

Balint groups are an evidence-based, workplace resource which have long supported doctors across the medical profession and the wider healthcare sector. In adapting these groups for the legal profession, with the sector’s particular needs and concerns in mind, we hope to pave better ways of managing work and client relationships.