Much in the same way doctors are not formally instructed on bedside manner in medical school, attorneys on the path toward becoming general counsel or rising to another type of senior-level executive position within their company are not taught leadership skills in law school.
This absence of professional development in the legal landscape is more commonplace within the Baby Boomer generation of attorneys rather than Generation X or Y, but this nurturing quandary is not unique to any one industry. Increasingly, law school career services staff are taking responsibility for providing professional development training to prepare students for the practice of law in today’s legal environment, according to the Association for Legal Career Professionals (ALCP). But many of those services are centered on job placement and initial advancement, so what happens when you’re ready for the big leagues?
