Thought Leader

By Joanna Goodman

Reputation is an important motivating factor for firms and individuals to devise a clear strategy for professional development. The business case is based on Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’ principle. The incentive for lawyers to ensure their legal and technical expertise is updated and cutting edge – and to improve their ‘soft’ skills in order to deliver excellent client service – is based on reputation. Excellent legal and technical training, combined with activities designed to promote a firm-wide understanding of issues such as diversity and environmental awareness, contribute to the firm’s brand and strengthen its key differentiating factors in terms of attracting clients and recruits – trainees and lateral hires – who want to work with a firm that reflects their own priorities and values.
Training that helps lawyers deliver what their clients require and want from their legal advisors underpins successful business development and fosters closer working relationships with clients. Client expectations are changing. As Mark Dawkins, managing partner at Simmons & Simmons observed in the May 2007 issue of Managing Partner magazine, “Increasingly sophisticated clients are looking for more, although what that ‘more’ actually is also varies a lot. It might be better value; faster service; a more proactive service; a ‘partnering’ relationship; or a deeper understanding of the client’s business on the part of the lawyer. These needs place new demands on a lawyer, requiring the development of a wider set of skills than pure legal training.”
Although many law firms are profitable because they offer their clients consistently high-quality advice and expertise, they are also operating in a dynamic marketplace where competition is intensifying, so anything that contributes to competitive advantage must be included in their strategy going forward.
Firms invest heavily in training – and in an industry where time-based billing and a fee-earning culture still prevails, so do individual lawyers. Cost is therefore an important factor in strategic professional development, both in terms of the cost of providing training and development and the fee-earning time devoted to these activities. Therefore a top priority in designing a firm’s professional development agenda must be to channel that investment in the right direction. The business case for a strategic approach is that it avoids misdirecting (as far as possible) that investment into training that lawyers either don’t want or don’t need. Furthermore, if training and professional development is delivered in an unfocused way, the budget can easily get out of hand, without the firm’s key requirements having being delivered or individual training needs met. An organised, strategic approach is therefore necessary to ensure that professional development reflects the firm’s strategic direction and priorities, and provides lawyers with the skills and knowledge they need to deliver the firm’s mission and objectives and enhance their own and the firm’s reputation.
Ultimately, in order to thrive in the new dynamic legal-services environment, firms need to develop a structured approach to professional development in order to derive the best possible value from their principal asset: their people.
This comment and more information on training can be found in Ark Group’s Professional Training Strategies for Law Firms report. For more information contact ascrimshire@ark-group.com.