TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

To help new associates start their legal careers, and to help more senior lawyers further theirs, we train our attorneys extensively from the day they enter the firm. We go well beyond the standard education requirements, providing an extensive, three-tiered curriculum at several experience levels for our largest practice groups to build legal knowledge and strengthen professional skills:

  • Our 100-level program, which is required for all new associates, provides context for each department's practice, highlights sensitive issues, and provides practical instruction on matters for which newer associates typically are responsible. We also pair each first-year associate with a First-Year Guide, a mid-level associate who helps integrate the new associate into the practice.
  • Our 200-level program is designed for mid-level associates, but it is open to all attorneys. It provides a more in-depth understanding of transaction and case documents and technical points of law and practice that affect our clients. We also pair each new lateral associate with a Lateral Link, a senior associate who helps integrate the new lateral into the practice.
  • Our 300-level program targets senior associates and partners, but it is open to all attorneys. This program typically consists of legal updates and discussions of recent practice-related developments. These presentations address cutting-edge issues and current topics of concern to our clients.
  • Professional skills: We also help our attorneys progressively develop their professional skills through workshops and multi-day academies that cover topics such as negotiation, finance and accounting, practice development, and, for litigators, taking and defending depositions. Attorneys are encouraged to develop their expertise further by teaching courses, co-authoring legal texts and ABA guides, developing WSGR Alerts on key legal developments, and speaking publicly on behalf of the firm.
  • Outside programs: We encourage experienced associates and partners to attend outside seminars and make use of on-demand programs from outstanding providers like Practising Law Institute, with which the firm maintains a privileged membership.
  • On-Demand Learning: Our On-Demand Learning website provides online access to recordings of internal classes. (A related site provides clients with access to recordings of client-facing education programs.) Attorneys who need a refresher or who missed a class can watch it online, download it to their iPods or other portable MP3 players, or review a transcript of the material. Users also can search for guidance on a specific issue—down to a spoken word—and can launch the recording quickly at the desired place.
  • MCLE Compliance: We make it easy to comply with MCLE requirements through internal training classes, on-demand learning, external programs, and online compliance tracking.

Our Education Committee, chaired by partners in the firm, directs the development and delivery of a full curriculum for each practice area. It is supported by our Training and Professional Development department, which is dedicated to providing our attorneys with the knowledge and skills they need to excel in their fields.

To learn more about our Professional Development program and our related Knowledge Management program, or to see how these departments connect to serve our clients and build the expertise of our attorneys, please review our Professional Development brochure.