Reed Smith Unveils Comprehensive Talent Development Program - Competency-Based CareeRS To Launch Across Firm’s Global Offices
Publication Date: October 27, 2009
(October 27, 2009) – Reed Smith LLP today announced the launch of CareeRS™, a new competency-based program focused on developing the talent of its personnel. CareeRS will be rolled out across Reed Smith offices around the world, effective immediately. The first phase of the roll out will be to associates, and the second phase to support staff next year.
“Clients demand and deserve the best-quality legal talent, firms require highly skilled lawyers to compete successfully in today’s global markets, and associates expect meaningful opportunities to expand their knowledge and develop their skills,” said Gregory B. Jordan, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner. “CareeRS meets all of these needs and expectations in a comprehensive way.”
The competency model provides a “roadmap” detailing the specific skills required at each level. Under the new program, associates are no longer classified by year, but by competency level—junior, mid-level or senior.
According to Nicky Dingemans, Reed Smith’s Global Chief People Officer, the Reed Smith competency model covers four core areas—legal skills, citizenship, business skills, and clients, with a focus on nine core competencies. Among other things, the core competencies address the mastery of fundamental legal skills, support of the firm’s culture, demonstration of leadership and business skills, and most fundamentally, understanding and effectively managing client needs.
“While it won’t surprise anyone, we view our legal talent as our top competitive asset,” said Eugene Tillman, Reed Smith’s Global Head of Legal Personnel. “We believe CareeRS will be a great differentiator for Reed Smith that will resonate positively with our clients and our lawyers. We have shared the program with some of our leading clients, and they have embraced its promise to deliver not just skilled lawyers, but also well-rounded professionals who understand their business and have the ability to look beyond the legal problems at hand.”
Tillman and Dingemans point out that training and other development opportunities are already widely available firmwide through Reed Smith University, which currently offers 140 in-house courses annually that are designed to enable the firm’s lawyers to expand and extend their knowledge and skills. Associates also have a range of other development opportunities through pro bono work, participation in client and intra-firm secondments, online resources, and mentoring and coaching, among others. CareeRS will expand the training and development options with courses and other opportunities mapped to the nine core competencies, and it will also include three “academies,” one for each associate level.
“We believe CareeRS holds the key to reduced associate attrition and higher client satisfaction,” Dingemans said. “We see Reed Smith in the forefront of talent development, expanding the opportunities for our associates to grow as lawyers and to become well-rounded leaders, managers and citizens through cutting-edge programs like CareeRS.”
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with nearly 1600 lawyers in 23 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, technology and media, shipping, energy trade and commodities, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
U.S.: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Oakland, Princeton, Northern Virginia, Wilmington, Silicon Valley, Century City, Richmond
Europe: London, Paris, Munich, Greece
Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Dubai
Asia: Hong Kong, Beijing