Formal law firm training schemes are ofen too focused on the law rather than how it should be practised, says DLA Piper's Delphine Chevallier, who argues associates are far better served by deal simulations and learning how to speak the same language as clients

Formal training courses aimed at developing the legal skills of lawyers are often not effective learning tools at all. In order to improve, law firms must invest more time and resources into designing training sessions that use case studies, simulation and experience sharing. It is also important that greater investment is made in the training of facilitators so that they are more effective in coaching participants during a session.

Traditional training methods have too great a focus on the law itself, rather than how to practise it. To be good lawyers, fee earners must learn key skills such as how to apply and give legal advice that is relevant to the client and their business, as well as how to present to a client without bamboozling them with law jargon. Speaking in the language of the client is crucial.

If a formal training framework is a pre-requisite, that alone is not sufficient. The most effective and beneficial method of learning professional practice – and lawyers are not so different from other professions such as auditors or consultants – comes from shadowing and being coached by more senior lawyers. 

There is a fundamental distinction between project and practice-based professional services firms in that practice-based firms work from a body of codified knowledge. As a result, successful practice-based firms essentially work on an apprenticeship system. This means that the master craftsmen and women must pass on their knowledge to the juniors by helping them to actually do the work themselves on assignments. 

The principles of job coaching are that knowledge and skills are learned on the job after law school, with guidance provided by seniors throughout a career, to give you what is necessary to start in the business. Therefore it is critical that partners and senior associates give their time to nurture and develop the next generation. 

Having recognised the need for an improvement on traditional legal training methods, we have taken several steps at DLA Piper over the past few years to provide more variety in the training we offer.

We began by asking each of our practice group heads to identify a pool of partners who could contribute to the delivery of training sessions. These individuals are chosen because they have shown a flair for mentoring and coaching. They then lead sessions with delegates in which they run role play sessions, such as simulating the reactions of a CEO or a corporate counsel in a meeting with lawyers, which allows them to provide immediate feedback to participants on how to improve.

Training the trainers

In order to expand the number of partners with the appropriate skills to coach others, we developed a 'train the trainer' programme. This course has been designed to support partners and improve their facilitation skills, enabling them to lead activities such as role playing, while teaching them how to manage a group and how to improve their coaching ability.

We have also invested in the development of more case-based simulation and blended programmes that comprise a mix of virtual team work preparation, partner mentoring, online sessions and face-to-face simulation. An example of this in action is our Finance & Projects (F&P) Negotiation Academy, for which we have received several awards. 

The F&P Academy is an EMEA-wide learning programme that helps the firm's lawyers develop both technical and professional business skills. Lawyers work in cross-border teams, acting as either borrowers or lenders in a simulated transaction. For the first seven weeks of the programme they work in a virtual environment to open negotiations and agree initial terms. In the eighth week the programme culminates with face-to-face negotiations. Each team is supported by two partner mentors who provide guidance and feedback at each stage.

Participants in the academy have reported that they had enhanced knowledge, skill and confidence in relation to key topics such as negotiation, presentation and team working. The speed with which they improved was particularly impressive. The opportunity to work with international peers and partners was also highlighted as an important element. These benefits were supplemented by the growth in confidence of the participants, who became more creative in their exploration of alternative approaches, and the increased awareness among the mentors of how to support their colleagues' development.

DLA Piper has been investing significantly in developing the business acumen of our lawyers at every level so they are able to establish and maintain the right level of relationships with clients across the world. However, we recognise there is still progress to be made here. 

Clients are at the heart of all law firms' businesses and it is crucial to listen to their needs, while understanding their businesses, the economics of their companies, their management concepts and management operations. Using this information to then provide relevant training helps develop lawyers with a deep understanding of their clients, putting them in a position to give the best advice possible.

Tooling up

One of the greatest competitive pressures facing the legal industry comes from clients who are increasingly demanding more from their law firms. Providing the necessary training to equip lawyers with all the tools they need to be able to advise clients effectively in the shortest possible time is crucial to a law firm's success. 

Linking knowledge management (KM) and learning and development (L&D) frameworks is, therefore, critical, and at DLA Piper we are developing ways to work even more closely together across teams in the future. We are also setting up more online solutions to be available across the firm. Our L&D teams will bring their expertise to design web-based learning solutions so that KM and lawyers can focus on the content. 

Last but not least – indeed, perhaps the most important aspect – is for lawyers to really take ownership of their own development. The legal profession is made up of highly educated and intellectually brilliant individuals who may have a tendency to think that they can develop their career and their business based on their high level of education and/or on being compliant with a CPD or CLE system. 

However, the economic world is changing rapidly and every profession, without exception, has to develop new skills, new approaches and learn to let go of some past practices and create new ones. The legal industry has faced many challenges over the past few years and the lawyers who are most successful are the ones who continuously challenge the way they practice and take opportunities to learn as seriously as they take client work.

The law firms that will succeed are the ones that continue to adapt and invest in developing their lawyers, equipping them effectively for the challenges ahead. This is a dynamic and continuously evolving process and it is imperative that firms continue to heavily invest resources in learning and development, and come up with creative solutions. 

Delphine Chevallier is international head of learning and development at DLA Piper.