Law schools, lawyers and legal ops leaders are partnering for a free, open-to-all webinar series launching June 4 that aims to equip participants with the business and people skills needed to succeed at companies and firms.

The 24-session “Tipping the Scales” webinar series runs from June 4 to Aug. 1, Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. EST. More than 20 instructors will cover topics such as leadership, public speaking, collaboration and cybersecurity, topics co-founder Connie Brenton said lawyers may not learn at law school.

“They [need] leadership skills, and presentation skills and collaboration skills, relationship skills and business skills, skills related to technology,” said Brenton, who is also the senior director of legal operations at NetApp Inc. and founder and former president of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium. “And so it's a very practical webinar series that will allow anybody who attends to perform better in their jobs.”

The webinar series grew out of the training plan for another initiative launched this summer, the Community of Legal Interns, founded by Brenton and John Pierre, chancellor for the Southern University Law Center.

After the pair met at a conference last year, Pierre called Brenton to discuss the school's legal ops and tech-related courses and invited her to come see the program in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Upon visiting, Brenton was impressed, and the two linked up to help Southern University students fill the labor shortage they've seen in some legal industry roles, including legal ops.

“We had recognized that opportunities were opening up in areas outside of traditional legal practice. … There needed to be graduates from law schools with a different set of skills to be able to successfully matriculate into those legal tech companies,” Pierre said. “There were a lot of well-paid positions and a great need for those skills.”

This summer, eight Southern University students will be legal interns at one of eight companies: Chronicle, Walmart, Juniper Networks, Keesal, Young & Logan, LexCheck, Liberty Mutual, NetApp and Cisco Systems. Some have already started their internship while others begin in June. Students are working on a variety of in-house work, from legal ops to litigation.

CLI's founders wanted students to also get training on soft and business skills from industry leaders. Instructors, who include LawyerBrain founder Larry Richard, Quantstamp vice president of strategy Olga Mack, SpeechSkills founder Cara Hale Alter and more than 20 others, were eager to share their expertise with Southern University students.

As CLI's instructor roster began to grow, Brenton said she wanted to give other NetApp interns, including those outside the legal department, the chance to learn from the program. She and Pierre then decided to expand CLI's audience even further, to everyone, via the online webinar series.

“Once the speakers volunteered, I thought, 'Heck, why not open it up?'” Brenton said. “So instead of just legal interns, let's invite … business schools, law students, partners at law firms, our entire legal department because the curriculum is so outstanding.”

CLI's board members began spreading the word about “Tipping the Scales,” reaching out to companies, firms, and both business and law schools whose students might be interested. Brenton said the sessions could appeal to students and professionals in a variety of industries because they're teaching nonlegal skills “that will help everybody in their roles.”

The group now lists more than 80 involved employers, including schools, companies with legal departments, law firms and legal tech companies. Brenton said she hopes to reach around 5,000 participants by the summer's end.

There are 24 sessions, each led by a different instructor. Participants who attend 19 of the 24 remote summer series sessions are eligible for CLI's professional development certification. Brenton said a team project may also be required for certification, to encourage community building among participants.