Law Students to benefit from Ford & Harrison's Revolutionary "Year One" Program

The gap between what law schools teach and what practice requires looms large, and our clients — more accurately, our clients' general counsel — are on to it. To make matters more complicated, the talent pool of Generation Y, the Millennials, and beyond is demanding dedicated mentors, frequent feedback, and, at the same time, immediate, significant responsibility. The billable-hour and escalating hourly rates, however, provide very little incentive for busy partners to devote their time to teaching and mentoring new associates, and all too often the scope and variety of associate work assignments is dictated by the client's willingness to pay.

The Ford & Harrison "Year One" Associate Development Program is one firm's attempt to address this growing problem. "Year One" is an on-the-job training program for a new generation of lawyers — training through mentoring, firsthand work experience, and frequent client contact. To many members of the legal profession, the most striking aspect of "Year One" is that beginning associates do not have a traditional minimum billable- or billed-hours requirement for their first 15 months of employment. Instead, partners assign work based on the educational value of experience and are encouraged to include associates in the complete evolution of matters. Whether the associate's time can be billed to the client is a secondary consideration.

New lawyers will be immersed in all aspects of practice, learning through hands-on work assignments and direct observation. Non-billed clinical hours will also give associates opportunities to meet clients, learn about their businesses and industries, and gain the confidence of general counsel in person before appearing on clients' bills as faceless time entries.

All in the last week in the last month in the last 3 months in the last 6 months in the last year

Search Career Advice

In addition to clinical hours, "Year One" associates will complete a classroom curriculum including an approved independent self-study research project focusing on a particular legal issue or industry relevant to Ford & Harrison's labor and employment practice. "Year One" associates will be similar to surgical residents who continue to study and work long shifts but also have the opportunity to "scrub in" and learn hands-on from some of the most highly skilled members of their profession.

The initial cost of a program like this is substantial. In the short term, the firm faces rising first-year salaries and lost first-year revenue production. Additionally, Ford & Harrison is investing in an administrative infrastructure to support associate development and asking its partners to devote their time and incorporate mentoring into their day-to-day practice.

• Search Legal Jobs
• Search Articles
• Employer Listing

Europe:

• Austria
• Belgium
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Russia
• Spain
• Sweden
• UK

Americas:

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Canada
• Mexico
• US

Asia/Pacific:

• Australia
• Japan
• China
• Korea
• India

Change Country

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAshmore and Cartier Islan...AustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamas, TheBahrainBaker IslandBangladeshBarbadosBassas da IndiaBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean Terr...British Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurmaBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandClipperton IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongo, Democratic Republi...Congo, Republic of theCook IslandsCoral Sea IslandsCosta RicaCote d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaEuropa IslandFalkland Islands (Islas M...Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFormer Yugoslav Republic ...FranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern and Antar...GabonGambia, TheGaza StripGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGlorioso IslandsGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald...Holy See (Vatican City)HondurasHong KongHowland IslandHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJan MayenJapanJarvis IslandJerseyJohnston AtollJordanJuan de Nova IslandKazakhstanKenyaKingman ReefKiribatiKorea, NorthKorea, SouthKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan ArabLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMan, Isle ofMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated Sta...Midway IslandsMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNauruNavassa IslandNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNo Man's LandNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalmyra AtollPanamaPapua New GuineaParacel IslandsParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandsPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the Gre...SamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbia and MontenegroSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the Isl...SpainSpratly IslandsSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbardSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic...ThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTromelin IslandTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands (US)Wake IslandWallis and FutunaWest BankWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

United States

Search jobs

All in the last week in the last month in the last 3 months in the last 6 months in the last year

Search Career Advice

Select In-House Law Firms Government Recruiters Public Interest

Search Employer

All of this may lead some to ask how the firm can afford to offer such a program. How can we afford not to? The potential long-term benefits are immense. Clients will benefit from a cadre of highly skilled associates capable of assuming greater responsibility for cases. Associates will be able to handle more challenging and more complicated work earlier in their careers, and as a result, they will be more satisfied with their legal careers. The firm will benefit from the increased retention and loyalty of talented associates.

Ford & Harrison is the first law firm in the United States to implement a training program of this kind and scope, but law firms nationwide are experimenting with new approaches to talent development. Faced with a complicated problem, good lawyers are, after all, creative problem solvers. Many firms are investing in attorney professional development through formal mentoring programs and associate training curricula, and some are experimenting with reduced billable-hours requirements.

There is no single solution, but going forward, mentoring and on-the-job training will continue to be at the heart of talent development in law firms.

Margaret F. Holman, Esq., is the director of professional development at Ford & Harrison, LLP, a national labor and employment law firm.