The legal profession is being reevaluated from the inside out, as corporate clients are demanding new ways of doing business and greater value for their legal dollar. Womble Carlyle is doing the same thing internally, examining how to better develop young leaders from within and give the firm’s newest attorneys a full range of skills to better serve clients with the firm’s new Entry-level Associate Program.
The program began Oct. 1st, when our new crop of 10 entry-level associates officially began work at the firm. Each month, these new attorneys will receive specialized training in such key topics as legal writing and drafting, negotiation, pro bono work, diversity, public speaking, professionalism and bar activities. Such lessons generally are not taught in a law school curriculum, yet are vital in the success of a legal career. Womble Carlyle’s most experienced, accomplished attorneys, including Firm Managing Member Keith Vaughan, will take a direct role in the training.
Also, new associates will have a chance to hear from guest speakers and subject-matter experts, as well as participate in hands-on projects that give them a chance to apply what they have learned. The training kicks off with an intensive week-long orientation session. The Entry-Level Associate Program is modeled after leadership programs sponsored by many chambers of commerce. For example, Womble Carlyle sponsors the
Leadership Greenville training program in Greenville, S.C., and elements of that program and others have been incorporated into the firm’s internal training.
In order to ensure that this training is given its proper priority, we are reducing the number of required billable hours for attorneys participating in this program. Instead, these attorneys will split their time between practicing the law and learning about the best ways to serve clients.
“Womble Carlyle is taking an exciting and bold step to ensure that our newest attorneys are the best and brightest we can offer,” said attorney
Rory Whelehan, who leads the firm’s Recruiting Committee. “Even in these challenging times, we are investing back in our most precious resource—talent—to ensure that we can meet and exceed the expectations of our clients.”
A full-service business law firm, Womble Carlyle ranks among AmLaw's 100 leading firms in the country and is a top law firm for companies doing business in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states. The firm is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award, making Womble Carlyle the first law firm ever to receive the highest honor given to a business organization in recognition of its support of the Fund and its 45 member educational institutions.
Founded in 1876, Womble Carlyle operates in six states and the District of Columbia with nearly 550 attorneys in eleven offices located in Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, NC; Washington, DC; Tysons Corner, VA; Wilmington, DE; and Baltimore, MD. Womble Carlyle is located in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, and serves clients nationally and globally.
