Howrey Simon Embraces Apprenticeships
posted by Deven Desai
As I have written before, a teaching law firm seems like one way to bridge the gap between what one learns in law school and the on-the-job training that no professional school can fully offer. I analogized the change to a medical residency and some commentators reminded me that England has a system of apprenticeship which (some noted that medical education is also working on its problems which does not surprise me but is a topic for a different time). Now it seems that Howrey Simon is embracing the apprentice model. According to the National Law Journal:
As part of the two-year program, associates will spend the majority of their time at the litigation-heavy firm attending training seminars where they will learn the practical skills of lawyering, said managing partner Robert Ruyak in an interview.
During their first year at the firm, associates will take classes on legal writing and research and will work on pro bono projects to give them hands-on experience without charging clients. In the second year of the program, associates will be embedded at client sites for several months at a reduced billing rate of between $150 and $200 an hour. They will also continue to take classes on litigation skills such as trial tactics, cross examination, and mediation and arbitration.
Although this move is part of changing compensation at the firm, the program seems promising. Associates in the program will make less but the program will also cost the firm quite a bit. If I were graduating law school right now, this program would certainly catch my attention. In addition, I would bet that this program will create a certain loyalty from the associates. Some will of course leave. But I would expect that an intense yet civilized and constructive training environment will generate goodwill and an actual collegial relationship that can only help Howrey in the long run.
I’d love to know more details about how the program will implement the program so that education and supervision run well. Nonetheless, I wish Howrey good luck and congratulations as it updates an old model for today’s legal industry.
Image: Illustration of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Der Zauberlehrling
Source: Wikicommons
From: German book, Goethe’s werke, 1882, by S. Barth
June 25, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Tags: apprenticeship, Howrey Simon, law firms
Posted in: Law Practice
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