Training: The Key To A Strong Biglaw Culture?

Not all that we hear about associate training is negative. When there is a strong commitment to training, associates appreciate it.

onDecember 9, 2014 at 4:29 PMDecember 10, 2014 at 6:57 AM

To hear most Biglaw associates tell it, law firm associate training and professional development is honored chiefly in the breach. What we typically hear (via the ATL Insider Survey) are people lamenting its absence. “Better be able to hit the ground running. Ain’t no ‘training’ or ‘mentoring’ round these parts” is a broadly representative comment. (Of course, for those of a certain old school mindset, “hitting the ground running” or “being thrown in the deep end without knowing how to swim” is actually a point of lawyerly pride.) For most however, the beginning of a career in Biglaw is a bewildering prospect, for which law school has left one unprepared, despite whatever “thinking like a lawyer” is supposed to mean.

This used to not matter so much, so long as clients would foot the bill for what amounted to junior associate training. Client pushback against this long-favored practice is one small aspect of this post-“New Normal” landscape. At the same time, many firms have trimmed costs by cutting back on their professional development budgets. In other words, just as firms are most hard-pressed to justify the contributions of junior associates, many are abandoning efforts to close the “core skills gap” that is so widespread among recent law school graduates.

However, not all that we hear about associate training is negative. When there is a strong commitment to training, associates appreciate it:

Sponsored

Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance

In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.

From Pilot and Above The Law

* Drinker instituting its training program instead of laying off the 08 class was pretty powerful signaling that they care about developing young associates. As someone who intends to stay at the firm for the foreseeable future, that matters.

* Ropes & Gray puts lots of effort into training new associates, more than would make sense from a purely short-term economic perspective.

* [Wilson Sonsini] has a culture dedicated towards client service and recognizes the need for associates of all levels to receive appropriate training and support.

Conversely, the absence of a firm’s investment in effective programs sends a different message. This sentiment is all too common: “There is no training at all. Turnover is really a problem. The partners take no time to mentor, assist, instruct, or give feedback to the associates. Firm culture is really poor, and morale at the firm is low.”

Note that one of the firms lauded above, Drinker Biddle, was named No. 3 (!) on Crain’s recently released “Best Places to Work in NYC” list. Our own Insider Survey consistently shows a positive correlation between “Training” and “Firm Culture.” A striking number of the complimentary comments we receive concerning firms’ culture cite the strength of training programs as the linchpin of a culture that cares about developing younger talent. (See here for the top-rated firms for Training according to our survey.)

We would like to hear more from you law firm associates out there about your employer’s training and professional development efforts. In partnership with our friends at The Fullbridge Program, we are running a brief, confidential survey which looks to dig a little deeper into training and professional development. What aspects are working? What are the weaknesses? Does the firm need some help on this front?