• Foundational Skills for New Associates

    A comprehensive, customizable learning bundle to get your new associates off to a strong start.

Welcome to law firm life.

This 12-module digital learning series will quickly elevate the skills of your newest associates and provide them the foundational knowledge and skills needed to acclimate to law firm life and get off to a strong start.

Ideal for junior associates and summer associates.

It’s a whole new world.

  • What does it mean to be a professional in a law firm today?

  • How are the expectations different from when you were a law student?

  • How can you shine as a new associate?

  • How can you get to know the firm, build relationships, and build your own personal brand?

  • What do you need to know about your ethics responsibilities as a new associate?

  • How can you work effectively with the administrative personnel who will support you?

  • How can you work effectively when you are supporting multiple supervisors?

  • What are some best practices for managing your assignments?

  • How can you learn to welcome feedback – and even solicit it so you can learn and grow?

This series addresses questions such as:

Build a strong foundation with your new associates.

This series includes the following SkillBursts, each running approximately 10-18 minutes in duration. Each course was designed just for law firms, can be branded to the firm, and is customizable – so you can tailor the details to the specifics of your firm’s culture, environment, and expectations.

Being Purposely Professional as a New Associate

(16 minutes)

As a new associate you know that demonstrating professionalism is vital to building your reputation at the Firm. But you also may be wondering exactly what it means to “conduct yourself professionally.” In this module we’ll take a closer look at what it means to “be purposely professional” and we’ll meet a few new associates and observe their actions – and then assess how they conducted themselves and which of the essential elements of professionalism they may or may not have embodied.

How to Shine as a Junior Associate: It Starts with You

(10 minutes)

To become a star associate you know you need to produce high-quality work on time every time. But what else can you do to stand out from your peers? In this module we explore how you can increase your awareness of what you can control in your day-to-day interactions to maximize your probability of success at the firm.

How to Shine as a Junior Associate: Building Relationships

(10 minutes)

The practice of law is a people-centric business. To differentiate yourself from your peers and maximize your chances of success you need to earn the trust of the lawyers and the professional staff you work with every day. In this module we explore some practical tips you can implement immediately to begin to cultivate strong career-enhancing relationships while building your reputation as well.

How to Shine as a Junior Associate: Getting to Know the Firm

(11 minutes)

It’s essential for you to become conversant with the firm’s culture, operations, and professional staff if you want to shine as a junior associate. In this module we explore effective concrete actions you can take to learn more about the firm and why that matters to your professional growth and your standing in the firm.

Building Your Legal Skyscraper: Professional Ethics for Junior Associates

(16 minutes)

In this module we meet Ethan, a new associate just starting his legal career. Ethan has spent a lot of time thinking about his long-term goals and realizes that his evolution as a lawyer will be similar to the construction of a skyscraper. Through an interactive exercise, you will guide Ethan floor by floor through the construction of his legal skyscraper, assessing a variety of ethical decisions based on principles covered throughout the module.

Working Effectively with Administrative Personnel

(11 minutes)

The way you interact with our professional staff is as important to your success as the way you interact with other lawyers. Why? (1) Strong relationships with others – at all levels – will take you further than any one of us can go alone; (2) the way that you interact with our administrative staff directly affects the ease and speed with which you can get things done; and (3) the way you interact with others is a direct reflection on you. In this module we’ll explore four primary rules – and several tips – to keep in mind to work most effectively with our professional staff across the firm.

Strategies for Managing Assignments

(15 minutes)

To build your reputation within the Firm as a “go-to” associate you must be able to manage your workload and assignments and deliver an excellent work product on time every time. In this module we’ll explore a scenario in which Alex and Blake have been tasked with similar assignments. We’ll see what we can learn from their experiences and explore nine principles that you can apply to your future assignments.

Navigating Firm Events

(11 minutes)

Firm events offer valuable opportunities for you to connect with other lawyers and business services professionals at the firm. So how can you make the most of these events? What should you do (and not do) to stand out and make a positive impression? In this module, we'll explore how to make the most of firm events so you can begin building meaningful relationships and solidifying your reputation.

Making the Most of Working with Multiple Supervisors

(12 minutes)

Like many associates Joe has several different people supervising his work. On the one hand he is excited; working with so many people will provide him with a variety of learning opportunities and can help open new doors. On the other hand he is finding that each has a different way of working and different expectations of him – and he doesn’t want to let any of them down. How can Joe manage so many preferences, styles, and deadlines and still stand out to each of his supervisors? In this module we’ll take a look at four ways to make the most of working with multiple supervisors.

Inviting and Embracing Feedback

(18 minutes)

To grow and progress – personally and professionally – we need feedback. Not just the once-a-year “annual performance evaluation” type of feedback – but frequent, timely, and meaningful feedback that can help us to regularly assess what we are doing well and what we could be doing better. Yet the majority of us don’t receive as much feedback as we would like and the feedback we do get isn’t particularly constructive. In this module we’ll explore specific actionable steps you can take to prepare for, solicit, receive, embrace, and act on meaningful feedback.

Writing Effective Emails

(16 minutes)

The emails you write say a lot about you… for better or for worse. In this module we explore how to draft emails that are easy to read and understand and that demonstrate your professionalism, your clarity of thought, and your ability to communicate effectively and respectfully of others’ time.

Video-Conferencing from Home? Getting Started

(3 minutes)

Need to video-conference from home? Be aware: It requires a bit more planning and preparation than it might from the office. But once you’ve got your set-up in place, you’ll be ready to get down to business. Whether you’re presenting or simply participating, keep these five tips in mind.

Everything you need to get your associates off to a strong start.

Series includes

  • 12 modules designed just for law firms

  • Optional firm branding of each course

  • Optional customization of each course

  • Accompanying job aids or handouts with most courses

  • Facilitator guides so you can leverage the digital courses into expanded live, personalized training discussions

  • Delivery of courses as SCORM files for hosting on your LMS or through our web-based training platform

  • Printable certificates of completion (when hosted on our platform)

Pricing

Pricing for this pre-packaged series is based on the firm size and the duration of the subscription. Two-year and three-year subscriptions are available. The more series you license, the more you save! Contact us for limited-time preview access and a firm-specific quote today.  

Optional Add-On: Custom-Developed Digital Onboarding and Orientation

Looking for even more to round out your new associate onboarding and really orient your people to how YOUR firm operates? Let us develop a firm-specific orientation course just for you.

Popular Firm Digital Onboarding Topics

Flexible Delivery Options

If you leverage our platform, we’ll provide a firm-branded, web-accessible site featuring all of the modules you’ve licensed. You’ll also have access to an easy-to-use Administrative Control Panel, through which you can easily add new users, organize them into groups, send email announcements and assignments, and run reports on usage.

User access is straightforward and intuitive. And automated reminders and reporting capabilities make administration a breeze.

And if you’ve got your own Learning Management System (LMS) that you’d prefer to host the courses on, we can accommodate that, too.

Client service is our specialty

I have had nothing but great support from [the team]. They always turn around any requests promptly and do so with such professionalism.
— Hogan Lovells
We’ve had really great support from SkillBurst.
— Baker Hostetler
The team has been amazing.
— Kelley Drye

Rest easy knowing you’ll have a partner for the duration and amazing customer service and support each step of the way.