The findings of this study came as no surprise. Many clients take their lawyers’ legal expertise for granted. What they look for are legal advisers who understand the environment in which they operate and the challenges they face, such as internal pressures from management and procurement and external pressures from investors, financiers, competitors and regulators. They need their lawyers to provide bespoke strategic advice that is both commercially realistic and effective in achieving their goals.
As a two-year qualified lawyer, up until recently my professional training has followed the traditional route undertaken by many solicitors currently in practice — completion of an academic undergraduate degree, followed by the Legal Practice Course. Before I started my training contract, aside from a brief dalliance of being ‘Emma happy to help’ on a cash register at Asda, I had limited exposure to the commercial issues faced by businesses. As a qualified lawyer in my chosen field — commercial litigation — I have continued to receive on-the-job training under the instruction of the partners I work for and through the extensive training opportunities offered by my firm. However, untouched by Law Society training requirements, my understanding of issues affecting my client’s businesses has accumulated on an incremental basis as my career progresses, largely through direct exposure to clients.
In September 2006, Lovells made a break from this tradition by joining forces with
The programme is constructed in three tiers and the first is open to junior Lovells lawyers on a voluntary basis. The first stage is the ‘foundations of business’ course, which provides a two-year introductory taster comprising a series of core business classes covering each of the subjects taught on a traditional MBA course, such as strategic decision-making, accounting, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business finance. The second stage is the ‘business masterclass’ programme, a three-year course during which lawyers undertake three electives selected for their particular relevance to lawyers. These electives can be counted towards the full Cass executive MBA. The final stage of the three-tier programme is entry to the highly-ranked Cass executive MBA.
One of the key differences between Lovells’ programme and the traditional executive MBA is that the lawyers undertake the elective element of the MBA programme first before studying the core modules. This means that even those lawyers who cannot later commit to the full executive MBA will benefit from the elective elements of the course most applicable to their work. Lovells and
I am currently attending the first stage of the programme, the foundations of business course. While we have only had three sessions, the general consensus from the students attending is that the teaching and facilities provided by the
The programme is attended by lawyers from all of the firm’s practice areas, including corporate law, dispute resolution and finance, in addition to specialist areas such as competition, intellectual property, employment and tax law. Specific topics of the programme will have particular relevance to certain lawyers, depending on their area of specialisation. For example, as I have recently worked on several disputes involving auditors, the ‘accounting for non-accountants’ session was extremely useful to obtain a detailed explanation of how a company’s financial statements are put together and the current key topics affecting auditors.
While some of the areas have a less direct impact on our own specialisations, many of the topics studied will be of concern to our clients and therefore an understanding of them will undoubtedly assist our work. For example, in my department, we are frequently instructed to advise international product manufacturers on litigation defence strategy. The client will require a detailed explanation of the legal merits of their case. However, other issues will also have an impact on strategy, such as CSR policy, the company’s methods of advertising its products in the future and how information is managed to avoid any reputational damage or further legal problems. Legal advice cannot operate in a vacuum.
On a day-to-day level, the business concepts and theories studied on the programme should help us maintain
a good commercial dialogue with our clients. Even after just three sessions we have, among other things, learnt
the meaning of terms such as ‘SWOT analysis’ (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), ‘financial gearing’ and ‘human resources devolution’, as well as how such concepts impact on businesses. An understanding of these concepts will help us speak the same language as our clients.
The foundations of business course comprises a total of 10 three-hour evening sessions between 6pm and 9pm at
The fact that this voluntary programme is oversubscribed suggests that the additional business training has been embraced by ambitious junior lawyers, even though a formal qualification is a long way off. While it is a significant commitment on the part of the attendees, it is also a significant commitment from the firm to the professional development of its lawyers. Lovells is meeting the full cost of the tuition and all lawyers are encouraged to attend each session. It is not a token gesture towards assisting solicitors’ career development — it is a genuine attempt to ensure junior lawyers can develop a pervasive understanding of their clients’ businesses. It also shows some degree of confidence from Lovells partners in the loyalty of its lawyers — credits gained during the second and third stages of the programme are transferable, meaning anyone leaving the firm before completing the programme can transfer to a standard executive MBA. Furthermore, an executive MBA from
Not all business schools have welcomed lawyers into the business world in the same way as
Emma Nicholson is a lawyer in the dispute resolution practice at Lovells.
