When Abdi Shayesteh began work as a New York corporate associate at King & Spalding in 2007, he discovered the disparity between law school teachings and real-life legal work. His realisation gave birth to the idea of a platform where upcoming lawyers could practice on hypothetical clients and make mistakes without real-world consequences, while also receiving valuable feedback.
Increasingly, major law firms are querying who is best equipped to train their associates in foundational skills. The regime of having senior associates and partners in charge of new associate training appears to be teetering on the bridge of reconsideration. Shayesteh’s experience reveals the natural disparities existent in the current system, where less fortunate associates without access to guidance from senior associates are left to navigate the labyrinth of their tasks single-handedly.
As a result, the seeds of the idea to outsource associate training are being sown in these major law firms. This approach could ensure standardized training and provide an equal platform for all associates to master required skills, thus potentially reducing disparities and ensuring a higher quality of work across the board.
For a more detailed perspective on this shift in legal associate training, this topical article penned on The American Lawyer provides a detailed insight.