Media & Communications Corner: A Profile of Heather Bock, Chief Professional Development Office, Howrey, LLP

When Howrey decided to fill its Chief Professional Development Officer position with a professional in the field, instead of with a partner as had been the norm, it turned to Heather Bock. With a PhD in Organizational Behavior, training experience at Accenture, and human resources consulting experience with Fortune 500 ompanies, Heather was the ideal candidate to help the firm align its attorneys' skills with its business strategy. While reaching such a goal wouldn't be easy, Heather partnered with the firm's training partner, Martin Cunniff, to begin building the firm's professional development vision and chartering this new direction at Howrey.

Heather soon realized that one of the missing pieces related to the professional development of the firm's associates was a compass that would guide the firm's training efforts. With offices scattered throughout the world, there were many different definitions of what it took to be a successful associate. Heather knew that she needed to create a single definition of success that the entire firm would embrace. She spoke with partners and associates from the firm's many offices to develop this single definition of success, which included several key characteristics. These traits became known as the firm's sixteen critical competenciesand they laid the foundation for the firm's training and development efforts. This competency model was the precursor to Howrey U, which is an online training program that enables associates to develop their skills within these competencies.

GETTING BUY-IN

The professional development department knew that it would haveto get internal buy-in regarding these competencies. It promoted internal communications about the competencies, and provided opportunities for feedback. The department used existing structures within the firm to assist with this effort. For example, the Training and Evaluations Committee, which is comprised of partners in each office, was given materials to help explain the competencies. These partners then shared this information with associates in their office to show that the competencies had a 'local' sponsorship and were not coming from an out-of-touch, faraway office. The Associate Affairs Committee, with associates in each office, also assisted by providing feedback and sharing associate concerns. Their input helped Heather and her team better shape their competency model.

HOWREY U

Once the competency model was unveiled, Howrey U developed through more firm input. Heather had wanted to develop an online learning program, as she had experience with these from her previous jobs and knew the value of such programs. Associates were asked to share what they thought would help them build these competencies, and activities were added to Howrey U as appropriate. These include e-learning but also interviews with partners, suggested reading, and  articipating in classroom-based training courses; all of which are organized by competency.

The marketing and IT departments assisted with developing the face of Howrey U. The marketing department worked on a visual interface, which included developing a true campus feel to Howrey U. The site makes attorneys feel as if they are attending an actual university, showing the different campus buildings (Law Center, IT Center, etc.) and even reflecting the seasons: snow in winter, blooming trees in the spring. It also has its own logo to support Howrey U's unique identity. New associates learn about Howrey U as part of their orientation and they are provided with a copy of the Howrey U brochure. This 24-page brochure clearly explains Howrey's competency model and thoroughly outlines how Howrey U works. This in-depth brochure confirms the fact that Howrey takes professional development seriously.

While Howrey U provides ample opportunities for professional development, the firm also hosts in-person training events that are based on its sixteen competencies. These two-tothree-day, intensive skill-building sessions offer writing courses, interactive role-playing, and even an ironchef competition that teaches teambuilding skills.

Overall, the success of Howrey U has come through Heather's ability to institutionalize the idea of associate training. By initiating her project with research that built upon input from attorneys throughout the firm, she was able to create a solid structure that could be agreed upon and then built upon using the firm's many internal resources, from associate input to the marketing department.

Ensuring that this resource offers value and then getting buy-in from partners who can promote the resource to associates has helped to make it a success. The combination of online and in-person training activities shows that the firm is truly committed to training and wants associates to take the time needed to grow in these sixteen competencies.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The development of Howrey U supports Heather's larger goal of becoming a thought leader in the legal industry. By sharing the firm's professional development accomplishments through speaking engagements, articles about related awards, and even writing a book, Heather has helped to solidify Howrey's position as a thought leader in the field of professional development. So where will she go from here?

Heather believes that law firms need a stronger focus on leadership development, both for associates and partners. While many attorneys are incredibly skilled at practicing law, they can benefit from developing the skills needed to manage teams effectively, manage an office, etc. Heather sees a need to provide attorneys with the tools to help them be more effective from this perspective.

Related to leadership development is the field of 'OD,' a term that many law firms are just starting to learn about. Organization Development is a strategic way to make a firm more competitive, as it focuses on the kind of culture that a firm is building and looks at ways to develop all members of an organization so that their skill levels are in line with the organization's overall goals. Not only does OD focus on skills such as entrepreneurship and developing a client-focused approach, but it also focuses on how organizations communicate among members and reward good work.

THE SIGNATURE WORK EXPERIENCE

If it sounds like Heather is bringing corporate practices to the law firm environment, it's because she is. Heather continually scans publications and other resources for innovative ideas and concepts that can improve attorney development and the firm's performance. For example, while reading a Harvard Business Review article recently, she came across the term 'signature work experience.' This term refers to the idea of packaging a firm's offerings to differentiate and market the experience employees will have by joining one firm over another. By linking the many opportunities that Howrey offers its attorneys ' training, diversity initiatives, support ' she hopes to cultivate a signature work experience that helps the firm to retain and develop attorneys and to attract new ones. Judging from the success Heather has had with the development of Howrey U, the legal market will likely be hearing about Howrey's signature work experience in the near future.

Aileen Hinsch is a Business Development Consultant and the Project Director of LexSpeak at Jaffe Associates. She is based near Annapolis, MD, and can be reached at [email protected] or 410-757-5454.

When Howrey decided to fill its Chief Professional Development Officer position with a professional in the field, instead of with a partner as had been the norm, it turned to Heather Bock. With a PhD in Organizational Behavior, training experience at Accenture, and human resources consulting experience with Fortune 500 ompanies, Heather was the ideal candidate to help the firm align its attorneys' skills with its business strategy. While reaching such a goal wouldn't be easy, Heather partnered with the firm's training partner, Martin Cunniff, to begin building the firm's professional development vision and chartering this new direction at Howrey.

Heather soon realized that one of the missing pieces related to the professional development of the firm's associates was a compass that would guide the firm's training efforts. With offices scattered throughout the world, there were many different definitions of what it took to be a successful associate. Heather knew that she needed to create a single definition of success that the entire firm would embrace. She spoke with partners and associates from the firm's many offices to develop this single definition of success, which included several key characteristics. These traits became known as the firm's sixteen critical competenciesand they laid the foundation for the firm's training and development efforts. This competency model was the precursor to Howrey U, which is an online training program that enables associates to develop their skills within these competencies.

GETTING BUY-IN

The professional development department knew that it would haveto get internal buy-in regarding these competencies. It promoted internal communications about the competencies, and provided opportunities for feedback. The department used existing structures within the firm to assist with this effort. For example, the Training and Evaluations Committee, which is comprised of partners in each office, was given materials to help explain the competencies. These partners then shared this information with associates in their office to show that the competencies had a 'local' sponsorship and were not coming from an out-of-touch, faraway office. The Associate Affairs Committee, with associates in each office, also assisted by providing feedback and sharing associate concerns. Their input helped Heather and her team better shape their competency model.

HOWREY U

Once the competency model was unveiled, Howrey U developed through more firm input. Heather had wanted to develop an online learning program, as she had experience with these from her previous jobs and knew the value of such programs. Associates were asked to share what they thought would help them build these competencies, and activities were added to Howrey U as appropriate. These include e-learning but also interviews with partners, suggested reading, and  articipating in classroom-based training courses; all of which are organized by competency.

The marketing and IT departments assisted with developing the face of Howrey U. The marketing department worked on a visual interface, which included developing a true campus feel to Howrey U. The site makes attorneys feel as if they are attending an actual university, showing the different campus buildings (Law Center, IT Center, etc.) and even reflecting the seasons: snow in winter, blooming trees in the spring. It also has its own logo to support Howrey U's unique identity. New associates learn about Howrey U as part of their orientation and they are provided with a copy of the Howrey U brochure. This 24-page brochure clearly explains Howrey's competency model and thoroughly outlines how Howrey U works. This in-depth brochure confirms the fact that Howrey takes professional development seriously.

While Howrey U provides ample opportunities for professional development, the firm also hosts in-person training events that are based on its sixteen competencies. These two-tothree-day, intensive skill-building sessions offer writing courses, interactive role-playing, and even an ironchef competition that teaches teambuilding skills.

Overall, the success of Howrey U has come through Heather's ability to institutionalize the idea of associate training. By initiating her project with research that built upon input from attorneys throughout the firm, she was able to create a solid structure that could be agreed upon and then built upon using the firm's many internal resources, from associate input to the marketing department.

Ensuring that this resource offers value and then getting buy-in from partners who can promote the resource to associates has helped to make it a success. The combination of online and in-person training activities shows that the firm is truly committed to training and wants associates to take the time needed to grow in these sixteen competencies.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The development of Howrey U supports Heather's larger goal of becoming a thought leader in the legal industry. By sharing the firm's professional development accomplishments through speaking engagements, articles about related awards, and even writing a book, Heather has helped to solidify Howrey's position as a thought leader in the field of professional development. So where will she go from here?

Heather believes that law firms need a stronger focus on leadership development, both for associates and partners. While many attorneys are incredibly skilled at practicing law, they can benefit from developing the skills needed to manage teams effectively, manage an office, etc. Heather sees a need to provide attorneys with the tools to help them be more effective from this perspective.

Related to leadership development is the field of 'OD,' a term that many law firms are just starting to learn about. Organization Development is a strategic way to make a firm more competitive, as it focuses on the kind of culture that a firm is building and looks at ways to develop all members of an organization so that their skill levels are in line with the organization's overall goals. Not only does OD focus on skills such as entrepreneurship and developing a client-focused approach, but it also focuses on how organizations communicate among members and reward good work.

THE SIGNATURE WORK EXPERIENCE

If it sounds like Heather is bringing corporate practices to the law firm environment, it's because she is. Heather continually scans publications and other resources for innovative ideas and concepts that can improve attorney development and the firm's performance. For example, while reading a Harvard Business Review article recently, she came across the term 'signature work experience.' This term refers to the idea of packaging a firm's offerings to differentiate and market the experience employees will have by joining one firm over another. By linking the many opportunities that Howrey offers its attorneys ' training, diversity initiatives, support ' she hopes to cultivate a signature work experience that helps the firm to retain and develop attorneys and to attract new ones. Judging from the success Heather has had with the development of Howrey U, the legal market will likely be hearing about Howrey's signature work experience in the near future.

Aileen Hinsch is a Business Development Consultant and the Project Director of LexSpeak at Jaffe Associates. She is based near Annapolis, MD, and can be reached at [email protected] or 410-757-5454.