Career Development for Associates
Recruiting is about making promises. Retention is about keeping them…
What do firms promise young lawyers at the crucial commencement of their careers?
Access to top legal minds, clients and resources; the opportunity for growth and advancement; the chance to make one’s mark in a growing area of law. Yet so often the most valued associates depart the law firm environment because they feel their individual career growth is not being satisfied. Retention of these top associates in a competitive legal environment is critical to a firm’s growth, profitability and sustainability.
The Phoenix Career Development Program is an externally-delivered, unbiased and practical tool to help you keep your associates motivated, happy and engaged with their careers within the context of your firm.
The three main components of the program include, first and foremost, separate career planning workshops, which are divided between junior (years 1-3) and senior (years 4-6) associates. These two-hour workshops discuss career planning in the context of the following key areas, where applicable: commitment to developing skills, knowledge and profile; commitment to the practice and to adding value; developing networks and mentoring relationships; delivering client service and managing client relationships through an understanding of the client’s evolving needs; developing reputation internally and externally; developing business; and understanding profitability and performance metrics.
Through these workshops, your associates will learn the skill of career planning and will be provided with the tools to do their own individual plan after the session.
Next the program offers one-on-one sessions to your senior associates following the workshop, so that they can discuss their career plans, worry out loud, and confidentially talk through their career issues within the context of your firm. The refinement of their personal career strategy; the recognition of their individual strengths and weaknesses; the commitment to the practice through proactive growth and responsibility – we at Phoenix Legal have found that all of these elements are crucial to an associate lawyer’s enjoyment of, and engagement with, his or her craft.
Finally we provide the opportunity for all your associates to take advantage of a one-hour follow-up session, intended to act as a career intervention if need be. Phoenix Legal Consultants focus on the “art of the possible”: encouraging and supporting associates along their current career path at your firm. Furthermore, if we receive information from more than three associates on the same topic, we will provide you with anonymous feedback on the themes at issue, so that the firm’s leadership can investigate further.
Through our workshops and individual sessions, it is our goal to ensure your associates have developed an understanding of the interplay between career planning, building relationships, development of one’s self and development of one’s reputation. Helping your associate lawyers discover how they can best add value to their practice and to the firm is one of the most important investments your leadership can make in the notoriously competitive environment for legal talent.
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