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Back to Professional Development Overview
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| ASSOCIATE TRAINING PROGRAMS |
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ORIENTATION
Lateral Attorney Orientation
In addition to orientation in the attorney’s designated office, all new attorneys are brought to Philadelphia to participate in a 2-day orientation program to learn about the history of the firm and its unwavering commitment to professional excellence, pro bono work and the community. Attorneys meet with department leaders, firm management, administrative directors and others to quickly assimilate into the Firm. The orientation includes sessions on law firm economics, pro bono activities, marketing and legal research. Opportunities for socializing with other members of an attorney’s department and practice area are also part of the integration process.
New Associate Orientation
Each fall, new associates participate in a 3-day orientation program through which they begin the process of transition from law student or judicial clerk to private practice. New associates learn about the firm’s unwavering commitment to pro bono work and the community. They also learn about ethics and civility, law firm economics, The Segal Institute and legal research. The orientation concludes with an associates-only panel discussion where middle level associates answer questions and provide guidance, as our newest associates embark on the practice of law at Schnader.
Take An Associate to Lunch Program
New Associates’ orientation and integration continue through the Firm’s “Take An Associate to Lunch” program. The Firm pays for the lunches of host lawyers and new associates to encourage our lawyers to invite new associates to lunch frequently during their first months with the Firm.
Each department is primarily responsible for the education of its lawyers. Core competencies have been established for each of the Firm’s four departments; and benchmarks have been established in writing, oral advocacy, practice management, pro bono, professional development and substantive practice areas so each department can measure its associates’ performance during development.
Litigation Services Training
Our largest department, litigation services, has a fixed curriculum that is presented in a weekly program from October and through May. Other departments educate their associates throughout the year through workshops and presentations – some developed internally, others from outside instructors.
Litigation services’ formal training is presented through a structured curriculum that covers the mechanics of practice in state and federal court as well as strategic considerations at each stage of a case. To view a list of programs, click here. The litigation services training program is associate directed and partner supervised. More senior associates plan and present the programs. In addition to the information first-year associates learn, the litigation services training program fosters informal mentoring and the collegial relations that are the hallmark of practice at Schnader.
Business Services Training
Business services offers firm-wide training covering various topics including drafting transactions, conducting due diligence and preparing due diligence summaries, maintaining a checklist or closing agenda and advising on employment matters. In addition to programs designed and presented by Schnader lawyers, in the past year a well-known professional development instructor and transactional attorney, Charles Fox has presented half-day workshops on transaction structures, contract due diligence and closing the deal. This year's programs are as follows:
| ∙ "Survival Skills: What Junior Deal Lawyers Need to Know" ∙ Business 101 ∙ Contracts ∙ Entity Engineering, Creating Enforceable Corporate Obligations ∙ The Basic of Transaction Structuring ∙ Due Diligence ∙ Tax-Free Financing ∙ What Transaction Lawyers Need to do to Avoid Litigation ∙ Non-Profit Tax Clinic |
Family Law Training
Training in our smaller departments is done by the supervising attorneys in each department. The Family Law associates are given the opportunity to attend training programs outside the Firm and are included in observation opportunities such as depositions, arguments, hearings, mediations and trial. They learn to maintain and update a calendar with all court, client and internal deadlines; argue discovery motions; and draft support, custody and divorce complaints; petitions to modify custody and other pleadings. The associates also attend the structured curriculum presented in the Litigation Services department’s formal training program.
Trust & Estates Training
The Trusts & Estates department trains its associates in drafting standard Wills, Revocable Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Trusts and other agreements. The associates work with senior attorneys, clients, fiduciary administrators and accountants to learn how to administer a decedent’s estate and to create, fund and administer trusts. Associates are given opportunities to gain experience in areas such as nonprofit creation and representation, tax planning, Orphan’s Court practice and can gain experience working with the IRS and other taxing authorities.
Each year, all associates meet for a two-day retreat where associates get to know their colleagues through team building and informal social activities. Additionally, the retreat features interactive workshops presented by renowned speakers. For example, in 2007, associates in Business Services and Trusts and Estates participated in a 5-hour workshop on the Art of Negotiation presented by Kenneth L. Shropshire, David W. Hauck Professor, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and founding director of the Wharton School’s Sports Business Initiative. It included several different interactive sessions and a personal assessment of each associate’s bargaining style.
Associates in Litigation Services and Family Law participated in a workshop on Advanced Cross Examination presented by Roger J. Dodd, Esquire, co-author of the best selling title ever published by the Lexis-Nexis publishing company: Cross-Examination: Science and Techniques. Mr. Dodd is a frequent guest and commentator on Court TV, Good Morning America and numerous local Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC affiliate stations. His lecture tour is limited to 30 appearances a year, to standing-room-only crowds, at state bar association meetings and at meetings held by expert witnesses and other legal organizations.
Associate Training Programs
We understand that the availability of quality on-the-job training is one of the most important factors considered by law students and recent law school graduates in choosing a law firm. It should be.
At Schnader we believe that formal, practice-oriented instruction and training geared to each associate’s level of experience, is essential to professional development. The formal training is designed to supplement the daily training a young associate receives as work is completed and feedback is provided by the assigning attorney. In this way, we ensure that all associates have the opportunity to develop the skills that are needed for attorneys at their level of experience in their area of practice.
Accordingly, we devote significant time and resources to providing a comprehensive training program for all of our associates. Schnader provides both a Litigation Skills Training Program and a Transactional Training Program under the oversight of our Associate Professional Development Committee.
Schnader Curriculum
Schnader Curriculum is a group of firm-wide courses designed for associates. It includes quarterly presentations on topics such as Managing Your Practice, Ethics and Loss Management Issues, Managing Relationships: The Client, Opposing Counsel and the Court, and Advanced Legal Writing and Editing.
In addition to targeted CLEs and departmental training programs, Schnader has a series of programs for its fourth and fifth year associates to enhance their development.
| ∙ The Law Firm as a Business ∙ Personal Finance ∙ Developing Business ∙ Time Management ∙ Introduction to Client Billing |
∙ Public Speaking for Lawyers ∙ How to Get Published ∙ Stress Management ∙ Road to Partnership ∙ Building Client Relationships ∙ Who are the "Clients?" |
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