The 18-month programme is part of the firm’s initiative to encourage new entrants into the profession
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has introduced a global legal operations graduate training programme that aims to encourage graduates to go into law.
“Legal operations is rapidly becoming an established methodology and skill set across the legal industry, bridging both private practice and in-house teams through common challenges and opportunities for efficiency and service improvement,” legal operations director Ian Gilbert explained. “This is a hugely exciting scheme for students and for us as a firm.”
The programme gives participants the opportunity to receive training in a “rapidly evolving area of client delivery,” Gilbert added. In the process, non-lawyers are able to cultivate the necessary skills to work in legal service delivery.
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“We are not only demonstrating the importance the firm places in this area but also ultimately creating a workforce that organically understands how to work with our clients in a more streamlined and innovative way, ultimately providing them with even better service,” he said.
Five roles across HSF’s international offices will be opened up to participants – two will be based on London, two in Australia and one in Asia. The participants will be rotated through specialist areas like pricing, legal automation and technology, legal project management and process design over an 18-month period.
At the end of the programme, participants will have the chance to take on a full-time position with HSF’s legal operations arm after completing a three-month secondment.
“This is a really exciting development for both the firm and the industry as we encourage more graduates to pursue a career in this area. This will also continue to strengthen the firm's market-leading legal operations function and broaden the skills network available to our lawyers and clients globally,” said Libby Jarvis, assistant legal operations director.
The programme will begin its inaugural run in January 2022.
HSF first launched its global legal operations arm in 2018. This function works with the firm’s alternative legal services group to craft “holistic solutions that deliver more value and operational efficiencies to clients,” HSF said.