London—In order to accelerate the development of a pipeline of junior talent in legal operations, international law firms CMS UK, Dentons (UKIME), Norton Rose Fulbright, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters and Slaughter and May (the Consortium) have united to create a novel Legal Operations graduate programme.

The programme kick-starts with an intensive, flagship, four-week course that will bring together graduates from the Legal Operations teams at the Consortium firms. Additional participants who currently work in the firms’ Legal Operations and related teams may also be invited to join nominated elements of the course. The foundation course will be supplemented by regular workshops throughout the programme period to bring together the cohort of graduates to work on case studies, reinforce their learning, and network with peers and legal operations experts in order to share experience.

The University of Law (ULaw) and Positive Pricing have been selected as the programme’s exclusive partners, working alongside the Consortium to lead the design and delivery of the curriculum, in what should be the first iteration of a longer-term, established training approach.

Sitting at the junction of the business of law and the practice of law, the legal operations function continues to play an increasingly important role in the delivery of legal services. The Consortium firms are all committed to attracting and developing the brightest talent in this field who will in turn drive value and innovation for clients. The Consortium firms hope this initiative will establish an industry standard for training and development of graduates in Legal Operations.

Participants on the course will study the changing face of the legal market, understanding their firms’ legal practice, innovation, automation, legal tech, process design, legal project management and the core skills of legal operations professionals.

“This course is truly unique in the training and development of legal operations professionals and will be a fantastic launchpad for talented individuals from different backgrounds to contribute directly to the business of the Consortium firms with the high level of understanding and relevant core skills needed to work in a fast-paced City law firm environment,”said Jim Moser, Director of Professional Development, The University of Law

“We are delighted to be partnering with the Consortium firms and ULaw to deliver this ground-breaking initiative and help develop the legal operations teams of tomorrow,”said Stuart Dodds, Principal and Co-Founder of Positive Pricing.

Supported by a faculty of expert tutors, high quality face-to-face training and online resources, participants will network with their peers from other Consortium firms. Some sessions will be co-facilitated by members of the Consortium firms and their legal operations teams to provide an induction and insights into each firm.

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