Partners put management into practice.
Craig McFadden talks to Susannah Moran from the Australian Financial
Review on the introduction of management and leadership development
programs for lawyers.
Senior lawyers often rise to a position of influence
without having had any management training, says
Craig McFadden, national learning and development
manager at Deacons.
Australian Financial Review,
2 November 2004, page 7
Making it to the elite level of partner at the top law
firms has traditionally meant having the ability to
attract clients. But the increasingly competitive legal
market in Australia is forcing firms to teach their
partners a new skill: how to manage.
The average partner at one of the major practices now
manages seven people, up from fewer than three a decade
ago, according to legal consultancy FRMC. The change has
driven the top firms to introduce programs for partners
that include coaching, marketing, business planning and
people-management skills.
Senior lawyers often rise to a position of influence
without having had any management training, says
Craig McFadden, national learning and development
manager at Deacons.
"We have a leadership program that is for established
partners, with different modules for different levels.
You can't afford not to have it" McFadden says.
The Deacons program is also aimed at showing that the
firm is concerned about the development of its lawyers,
says McFadden. Senior associates now have
development reviews and annual appraisals, and work with
national business partners to discuss their career
paths.
"We are making concerted efforts to reward partners for
developing their people," he says.
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