Editor's note: This piece is a companion to a report on the changes law firms have made to their associate training programs over the past decade.

While many law firms are bulking up their professional development offerings to better prepare associates earlier in their careers, some experts point out that it's even more cost-effective for law schools to bear the brunt of the training.

This is the idea behind the "T-shaped lawyer," a theory developed by Indiana University Maurer School of Law professor William Henderson. In his mind, attorneys need to not only have the deep legal expertise learned in law school (the long, vertical part of the letter T), but also professional, business and technology skills (the shorter, horizontal part of the T) to be coveted by many Am Law 200 firms.

"The T-shaped lawyer is important because they can do work that is not highly specialized, such as data processing, business operations principles—these lawyers are good at formulating solutions that deal with a client's needs for less," he says. "Many Am Law 200 firms want this type of attorney."

Henderson explains that after the Great Recession, clients started handling more of this type of general work in-house. But since it can be good on-the-job training for early-career associates, firms want it back. And by helping newer attorneys develop the business and professional skills needed to do this work well, firms can earn it back.

Henderson has also looked at ways to better train future associates before they even set foot in a law firm. In 2018, he founded the Institute for the Future of Law Practice, a nonprofit partnering law schools, law firms and corporate legal departments to better prepare law students.

As a law student becomes an associate and advances through their career, they become increasingly difficult and expensive to train, Henderson says. The nonprofit aims to shift more of that training back to a student's time at law school to keep costs down and improve efficiency.

Even though law firms are making strides, Henderson says, it doesn't all have to fall at their feet.

"There's better-quality training going on, including communication skills, empathy and putting yourself in the shoes of your clients," Henderson says. "But I wish some of this could have been done at law school."