Named as one of Europe's leading innovative law firms

We're happy to have maintained our ranking as one of the top 50 most innovative law firms in the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers – Europe.

This award celebrates innovation within the legal sector in Europe. This is the fifth year that we have been recognised in the top 50.

In addition, one initiative was commended as a “standout” entry in the Skills Development category. The Balint-model reflective practice groups for lawyers was selected for its intra-professionalism. It was noted that we were the first and only UK law firm to implement this method.

The Balint group model, which was developed by psychoanalyst, Michael Balint has been used for decades within the medical profession to better understand the doctor-patient relationship, promote reflection, and prevent clinician burnout. Now thanks to this initiative, this model of reflective practice has been applied to the legal profession to create a space to think about lawyer-client interactions.

Groups have a closed membership and meet monthly. They are facilitated by two leaders and comprise up to 12 lawyer group members. One lawyer presents a particular lawyer-client interaction which has stayed in their mind for whatever reason. The aim of the group is then to explore the emotional content of that particular lawyer-client relationship. These structured and confidential groups offer a safe space to promote discussion, curiosity and reflection relating to that professional lawyer-client relationship. Specifically, the group is encouraged to think about the various possible feelings that may have emerged from their interactions as opposed to a more practical or legal solution which may be brought about by supervisory processes. 

The initiative was led by senior legal advisor, Jenny Beresford-Jones, with regular monthly supervision from Dr Vikram Luthra, psychoanalyst, consultant psychiatrist and accredited Balint group leader. The goal was for lawyers to become more reflective and emotionally aware.

The support of the learning & development team, both in terms of time and resources, was essential to the success of the initiative. We're now offering Balint groups more widely within the firm to those who wish to take part. 

Jenny commented: “At Mills & Reeve, we’re always exploring fresh and innovative ways to enhance the services we provide. We combine the strengths of our people, processes and technology to create solutions that are centred around our clients’ needs. It’s great to work in a firm which encourages its members to be innovative and pursue their interests in furthering the firm’s overall strategy. 

“Our standout Balint-model reflective practice groups help us better understand and address the emotional and relational aspects of our client interactions. This approach means that we can deliver legal expertise while also paying proper attention to the ‘human’ side of our work with clients."