We know every stage of your legal career offers opportunities and challenges, and we know there are many ways to reach personal and professional excellence. Seyfarth offers a culture of support and teamwork to drive your success and help you achieve your goals, regardless of your path. We offer customized learning programs, continuing legal education, substantive training, and mentoring and coaching opportunities.
“The firm truly values my development as an attorney.”
- Whitney Schmidt
MENTORING AND COACHING
Lawyer Development Committee.The most vibrant opportunities for associates come through mentoring and coaching relationships. The firm has a Lawyer Development Committee comprised of partners from every office who serve as advisors for our associates and help drive their development. Each associate is provided an advisor when they join the firm, and the pair work together for coaching opportunities, annual review support, periodic check-ins, and goal setting.
One-on-One Coaching. The firm is proud to offer one-on-one coaching to our associates provided by expertly-trained internal coaches. Firm partners annually train with expert executive coaches and are then matched with associates who opt-in to this opportunity. Each pair works together for six months on an agenda set by the coachee, from practice development and credentialing to interpersonal and leadership skills. Our partner-coaches are provided with ongoing executive coaching from the external experts to help them provide the best experience possible to the associates. This coaching program has been active since 2012, and we have seen multiple previously-coached associates advance to partnership and sign up to be coaches.>
Here’s what one of our first coaching participants, who now serves as a coach, has to say about his experience with the program:
“As a coachee, my goal was to build my brand externally through speaking engagements. Putting in place a plan with my coach to achieve this goal ultimately helped me make partner, and it has continued to be a source of billable work and external speaking opportunities for me. On a personal level, these experiences gave me more confidence, which has benefited me both personally and professionally.”
Triad Mentoring Program. The firm’s nationally recognized Triad Mentoring Program, started in 2012, annually identifies a select group of high-performing senior associates from selected key categories to be matched with an executive level sponsor and a partner mentor with a leadership role. This working triad offers participants additional business development and networking opportunities to support and accelerate their success on their path to partnership. Seyfarth has seen a 75% or better success rate in advancing participants to partnership.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
From your time as a summer associate to your last years as a senior associate, the firm has training opportunities to support your growth. In addition to formal, structured training programs, the firm provides myriad informal training opportunities to all attorneys.
Associate Curriculum. Each year we design curriculum specific to the needs of our summer class and roster of first-year associates to introduce them to all levels of firm practice, culture, and people.
Career Growth Support. From day one, our dedicated group of attorney talent development professionals is specifically focused on supporting your growth, helping you navigate the firm, and identifying opportunities for your development. All attorneys are supported at all points in their career by the talent development team, from first-year associates through partnership, and our Professional Services Group has its own dedicated talent professional.
“We are focused on growing and elevating partners and giving those partners exceptional tools for client service. The talent team leads and facilitates that critical effort.”
- Paul Mattingly
Business Development Program. As part of the firm’s ongoing investment in the development of our attorneys, we have built a three-year structured, interactive, and impactful business development training to allow attorneys to understand the needs of our clients and potential clients as they grow in their careers.
Retreats. To support you on your path to partnership, we host semi-annual in-person retreats at the managing associate, senior associate, and income partner levels. These retreats include substantive training programs, business development workshops, wellness activities, and networking opportunities, as well as participation by our department chairs and executive committee members. A recent participant shared this feedback with us:
“I think it is really fantastic that the firm makes this commitment to its associates. I am very happy to work at a firm that actively and actually supports associate development, and I hope it continues. Thank you for all the hard work. It paid off in a great event.”
Trial Advocacy Program. For litigators who embrace the opportunity for more hands-on trial experience, we offer a trial advocacy program featuring live webinars, followed by a two-day, in-person mock trial event. This trial program includes lectures, faculty demonstrations, participant exercises, and an “on your feet” two-day mock trial.
Continuing Legal Education. Seyfarth is an accredited continuing legal education provider in our major markets, including California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Texas, and we apply for CLE credit in all other eligible jurisdictions. This allows our attorneys and clients to complete their CLE requirements hassle-free through hundreds of internal and public course offerings. We also have a subscription to CLE content accessible online to all firm attorneys, around-the-clock and on-demand.