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<b>Professional Development University: </b>Translating Professional Development into Business

By Valerie Fitch
July 31, 2006

Law firms are spending more money on professional development and hiring more staff to oversee this area than ever before. In addition to substantive skills programs for the many different practice areas, internal programs have expanded to include leadership and business-development curriculums, deal and case management training, presentation skills, business development and client relationship training.

Fifteen years ago, the comment often made about professional development in law firms was: 'Why should we?' Now, if a firm admits that it does not have an institutionalized professional development program, clients and other firms tend to raise eyebrows and ask: 'Why not?' In fact, many RFPs or RFIs from clients and prospective clients now routinely ask for details regarding the training a law firm offers, both internally and for its clients.

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