by Phyllis Weiss Haserot
The legal profession is experiencing a renewed interest in professional development at many levels, as we predicted would occur when the situation changed from a buyers' to a sellers' market in the pursuit of talent. Not only are firms and their clients seeing an increase in work with a better economy, but also the change in the demographic picture as the large cohort of baby boomer senior lawyers start to transition out is significantly influencing the demand and requirements for professionals development. More is happening on the training front; however, important gaps between what is being offered and what lawyers need in terms of skill and fulfilling of client needs are still evident.
Before I move to discussing the gaps I see in the professional development landscape of most firms, let's summarize the notable trends of the last few years.
Where are the gaps? What significant topics are not being addressed in most firms? Unquestionably some firms have made tremendous strides and understand how pivotal good training and coaching is to the strength and long-term success of firms. Areas that had lacked attention such as marketing, business development and sales are getting more emphasis. However, management and relationship skills development lag far behind in most firms. While not a comprehensive analysis of law firm professional development needs, here are the areas where neglect is hurting and holding back achievement the most.
The gaps outlined above are not limited to associates' skills; many partners need these skill enhancements as well.
Clifford Chance's programs, first developed in London, are the perhaps the most progressive in filling some of the gaps I described earlier. Foremost is the Global Business Skills curriculum, which was rolled out in the U.S. in the summer of 2004, according to Carolyn Older Bortner, Manager of Professional Development and Associate Life in New York. The curriculum includes: presentation skills; legal writing; matter management; mentoring; client development and handling client meetings; and leadership among the practice and soft skills that attorneys need in real life. Bortner said as part of this curriculum, attorneys not only attend live seminars, but also participate in development centers which focus on soft skills. Sometime during their fourth year, associates are taken off-site for a day and a half to experience a battery of exercises around mock situations. Towards the end they formulate a development plan with a facilitator (human resources professionals and retired partners), which is not for evaluation purposes but "purely developmental," said Bortner.
Somewhere in the seventh through ninth years, associates go through a senior development program which is designed around the same model but is geared to managerial skills. Associates can have follow up discussions with their facilitators or with a partner the individual works with. The firm also offers e-learning courses which are follow ups and refreshers for business skills.
Clifford Chance provides new partner orientation annually in London, and there are smaller regional orientation programs. In many other firms, new partner orientation focuses mostly on financial changes and some managerial responsibilities, but not enough on expectations. However, a few years ago, Greenberg Traurig started a series of new shareholder seminars at the instigation of Luis Salazar, a shareholder promoted the year before who wanted to help others coming behind him transition to the necessary mindset and get easy access to the information and skills he had to ask about and ferret out for himself.
The programs he started morphed into more institutional programs for new shareholders that include orientation about everything. In addition, the management meets with those attorneys who actually are promoted from associates to shareholders for a Q & A/lunch session. “This is both a source of information and a special event to recognize that they've been at the firm all along rather than laterally acquired,” said Salazar.
Individuals in firms need refreshers for the skills in which they have previously been trained. Weil Gotshal & Manges is rolling out refresher courses in communications skills, how actually to be a mentor and mentee, to give and receive feedback and act upon it, and to conduct recruiting interviews for both partners and associates according to the firm's Director of Professional Development and Training, Sandra Bang. “One of the keys to success is frequency of the refresher courses,” said Bang.
Coaching is the cornerstone of professional development which provides the ultimate benefit. It is personalized teaching that expands awareness, brings clarity, develops new habits that achieve growth, and fosters self-motivation. Studies show that coaching after training increases the value (return on investment) by four times (!), integrating and sustaining newly learned skills. Good ongoing coaching is missing in most firms and needs to be “the next big thing.”
© Phyllis Weiss Haserot 2006, published in NALP and other media.