legal sanity

This article announces that, this fall, Reed Smith will partner with Wharton’s executive education program to create Reed Smith University (RSU). While enrollment in RSU is not mandatory, the firm will strongly encourage its nearly 1,000 lawyers and additional non-lawyer staffers to participate. According to the piece, the program’s main purpose is to “develop and support existing and emerging leaders across the firm” by offering a year-round curriculum in leadership, business development, technology, professional support and law. Each course will have its own focus. “The leadership program, for example, will emphasize developing and motivating leaders and future leaders; the business development course will provide instruction in managing and developing business relationships; the technology school will assist employees in gaining the full advantage of the firm's technology investment; the professional support school will enhance the quality of support staff; and the law course will focus on expanding the legal skills of attorneys.” I think this is a fantastic idea that any law firm with the resources should implement. As a young associate, I really would have benefited from firm-sponsored classes on business development that addressed how to talk to clients and potential clients to discern their real needs and interests in seeking legal counsel/representation. It would have also been great to “matriculate” and bond with others from my firm as we all continued on our path as life-long students of law, business and human nature.