Partner Training and Mentoring
Becoming a Partner of a law firm is an achievement for any Solicitor, but it can also be a daunting prospect. Lawyers are not always taught the necessary business and management skills required to run a business but becoming a Partner will often bring with it the need for heightened expertise, including the need to make decisions that you may not feel equipped to.
Whether you are already a Partner of a firm or are seeking to bring in or promote new Partners, we have developed a training and mentoring programme that works for both situations.
Our Partner Training and Mentoring Service is focused on the development and support of Partners (or potential Partners) through the provision of external guidance and support to enhance their own skillsets, or to teach new skills which can be taken forward in their role as a Partner.
The service can either be provided as part of a training programme or can be used as a mentoring solution, giving a person or a group of people access to a mentor as and when they need guidance, support, or a second opinion.
If this is provided part of a training programme each course is developed for the firm and in consultation with the firm to meet their exact needs. This is a very bespoke and personal service.
Find Out More
For more information about our Partner Training and Mentoring Service you can call us on 0203 911 9710 or email us at info@thestrategicpartner.co.uk. You can also download our Partner Training and Mentoring brochure by clicking on the link below.
Partner Training and Mentoring – The Detail
The Strategic Partner has developed a powerful training programme for law firms that identifies and prepares solicitors for the step into a Partnership or Ownership.
The purpose of the programme is to provide future partners with expertise and guidance on a range of topics that Partners/Directors of law firms should know and understand.
Effective law firm management requires firms to have a succession plan in place, which is not always easily achieved. This training programme should be utilised as part of a firm’s succession plan.
We work in consultation with the current owners to assist in developing a succession plan to secure the future of the firm. In addition, we will work with prospective owners to ensure they are ready for the challenges they will face, through training and mentoring.
The focus is to prepare them for the management and running of a law firm, partaking fully as a Partner/Director and interacting with clients, staff and external businesses to ensure that they get the maximum input (or output) from every relationship.
The Training and Mentoring Programme
This training and mentoring programme is designed to run for 6 -12 months in a series of monthly sessions, although the reality of working in a law firm and preparing for a Partnership is that adaptation may be required, as the needs of both the firm and the individual may change on an ongoing basis. Each of the sessions is a day in duration; however, these can be broken down further into ½ days if that better suits the firm’s requirements.
Through the duration of the training programme and for 3 months thereafter (which can be extended), those enrolled in the training will be provided with access to a mentor to provide ongoing support, guidance, and assistance where they require it.
Training is provided by industry leaders who have extensive practical management expertise and the mentoring is provided by practitioners who have extensive experience and knowledge of management in the legal sector.
Understanding Requirements
We know that each firm is different and so are their individual requirements. To ensure the firm and the individuals gain maximum benefit from the programme, an initial session is held with the current Partners/Directors, enabling a full discussion on the expectations of the course and final outcome requirements. The programme will then be added to and adapted to meet these needs.
Below, we set out the suggested areas to focus on, but these can be adapted, reduced, and extended as needed.
The obvious goal is to enrich the knowledge and skillsets of new Partners/Directors or those being chosen for potential Partnership/Ownership, to prepare them fully for taking on the responsibility of being a Partner or Director.
This process can also be used to help identify future Partners/Directors, as feedback will be provided to the firm on each individual as we build a profile of them throughout the duration of the programme.
Suggested Programme
The following sets out the proposed programme which can be updated and tailored to meet the specific needs of any firm. Workshops could include: –
Regulation and Compliance
Solicitors Accounts Rules and the Codes of Conduct – what they mean in Practice
- Anti-Money Laundering: getting it right
- Implementing and maintaining risk reviews and audit standards
- Dealing with the SRA and interacting with them
- Managing complaints and general quality of client service
- COLP duties
- COFA duties
- Managing and controlling risk, both individual and firm-wide
- Understanding the market and the challenges regulation can bring
- Common threats and solutions to overcome them
10.2.2. Financial Management
- HMRC and law firms
- VAT
- PAYE
- NI and ErNI
- Investigations
- Reporting
- Reading and understanding management accounts
- What is required by your accountants to prepare the accounts
- Planning and forecasting, monitoring and reviewing
10.2.3. Law firm marketing and business development
- Understanding the fundamentals
- Marketing
- Digital marketing inc social media management
- Advertising
- PR
- Events
- Tenders
- Proposal and winning sponsorship for your ideas
- Building a marketing and advertising strategy
- Winning new business, the tactics and the approach
- New Business management and conversion
10.2.4. GDPR and data protection
- Confidentiality and Disclosure
- How to comply with the GDPR
- Protecting and controlling data
- Effective data compliance structures
Management and Controls
- Communication
- Importance of objectives and targets
- Performance management for all levels
- Managing and influencing upwards
- Anti-discrimination and ethics
- Stepping up to be a decision-maker
- Managing relationships
- Client relationships
o Corporate
o Personal
- Interviewing
- Planning and delivering training
Case Management and Data
- Technology in the legal sector
- When to use or introduce technology
- Use of the case management system: success and failure
- Managing data
- Using data effectively
- When to change or upgrade
Financial Management and Strategy – understanding and application
- Building a strategy – what to consider, whom to involve, and how to present
- Managing and monitoring results
- Review and adapt – why, how, and when
- Assessing the impact of strategies, when to change, when to continue and when to stop
- Reporting and communicating
Each session will bring practical learning through demonstration of application and case studies to support and aid understanding.
Additional Support (optional)
The pricing for additional support will depend on several factors and be confirmed following an initial conversation.
Pricing
The pricing for a full programme will depend on several factors and be confirmed following an initial conversation. We will work with the firm to ensure the pricing is cost-effective, affordable, and delivers full value into the firm.
Conclusion
Although this is an intensive programme, it is delivered in a way that encourages full participation by the attendees.
Our focus is to provide practical learning and accelerate experience enriching the future Partners/Directors of the firm, so they are better prepared for the challenges of management and ownership.
Each of those providing the training programme have been leaders in their own right at senior levels in the legal industry or in their specialist sector. The programme itself is bespoke to the firm and will be adapted to meet the firm’s requirements.
Enquiries
For more information about our Partner Training and Mentoring Service you can call us on 0203 911 9710 or you can email us at info@thestrategicpartner.co.uk.