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How Law Firms Can Train the Global Attorney

Just knowing the law isn't the same as successfully practicing law, especially at a global law firm where certain skills are crucial to working successfully with clients on challenging cross-border transactions and multijurisdictional, precedent-setting cases. Helping your associates develop those skills early in their careers so they can quickly assume key roles is beneficial to them, your firm and, of course, your clients.

Industry surveys reveal that associates rank training and professional development as an important consideration in firm selection and career satisfaction.

Clients also tell us that excellent legal skills, while critical, are not the distinguishing factor they are looking for in their lawyers. The complex and demanding work that they entrust to us demands that their lawyers possess a much wider range of skills, such as the ability to working seamlessly with counterparts in other countries and knowing the cultural nuances that facilitate how business gets done.

At White & Case we developed the Professional Skills Institute, which serves as an umbrella for our global training programs and ensures an organized approach to our professional development activities worldwide. Held annually in each of our regions -- the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa -- PSI complements individual programs that are created to address the specific business needs of our diverse offices and extensive practice areas.

The institute has three distinct but interrelated tracks:

• Orientation programs offer a comprehensive introduction to the firm and provide a foundation of core skills for the practice of law at a global firm. The intensive multiday conference offers practical and valuable sessions in client relationship management, cultural awareness, effective writing, comparable legal systems and time management techniques.

• Business skills programs help associates develop skills that are essential for the practice of law in today's highly competitive environment. By harnessing our internal best practices with the experience of select external consultants, we are able to provide tailored, hands-on training in communications, negotiation, business development and commercial understanding.

• Legal skills programs, such as our Mini MBA and White & Case Trial Academy, are tailored for the appropriate levels of associates' experience in their specific practice areas.

Since its inception, the PSI program has evolved, reflecting the demands of the marketplace and the changing needs of our firm and clients. For any global law firm it is imperative to develop a comprehensive, hands-on training program that covers specific legal and business skills and reflects how lawyers will work on deals and matters in the years to come.

Based on our experience with PSI during the last few years, we have come across some fundamental keys to forming a solid, well-rounded and progressive training program:

Develop tomorrow's teams today. Being a lawyer in a global firm provides many opportunities to work with colleagues from other offices and practice areas. The seeds for developing effective teams are sewn at the early stages of associate training. Training programs are an ideal forum to provide associates the opportunity to network and build close professional relationships with colleagues from around the world who will, ultimately, work with them in the future.

Incorporate cultural training. It is critical to understand the culture in which you are doing business and demonstrate that understanding to clients. In a global marketplace, your client base can come from anywhere. Lawyers who are trained on cultural sensitivities -- such as dietary restrictions, customs, language differences and the proper way to greet people from other countries -- help build client trust.

Pilot programs. Encourage your offices to develop courses as they see fit or as the need arises, whether those are geographic, industry-related or economic in nature. Your offices can be used as incubators for programs, which may eventually become an integral part of your training curriculum.

Make it practice-specific. Since every practice area brings with it a unique set of challenges, skills and opportunities, develop practice-specific training courses that widen lawyers' abilities and skill set in that chosen area of law.

Learn from your clients. Enlist clients and/or alumni to provide their "front-line" perspectives during training programs. They can offer valuable insights and share their views on various business and legal issues. This is also a great way for building and sustaining client relationships.

Get feedback. Courses must continually be refined and retooled to reflect the latest thinking and practices. Associate feedback is a vital component of that process, not only through their evaluations of the programs but also through their suggestions in modifications and creating or piloting new programs.

Staying on top means always being a few steps ahead. Developing a comprehensive training program, which spans all levels from summer associates to partners, is an evolutionary process. A good lawyer is always learning; it's our job to give them the tools to be great.

Karen Asner is a commercial litigator and the administrative partner at White & Case in New York, where she oversees all administrative aspects of the firm's 35 offices and helps shape firm culture, policies and strategic business objectives.

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