Careers

Legal Training

Our lawyers take professional development and training seriously. To that end, we created and conduct our own internal course offerings through Alston & Bird University (ABU). ABU offers training for all members of the firm, staff and attorneys alike. ABU’s colleges vary, depending on individual needs and legal practices, and we cover both broad substantive areas such as litigation, intellectual property, corporate and tax as well as more narrowly focused professional areas such as business development, use of technology and communication skills. Most of our courses are taught by our own experienced lawyers, all of whom are part of an elite and trained group, our ABU faculty.

ABU’s formal attorney training programs are designed to provide the opportunity for our lawyers to practice what they have learned with hands-on exercises. For interactive training, we typically establish a mock environment, observed by senior lawyers (coaches) within the same practice area. Coaches share their advice on various aspects of the practice, demonstrate how to do it, and then have participants practice what they have learned with live performances, written homework and group exercises.

ABU’s eLearning and live program offerings are accessible on a learning management system (training software), which has been developed specifically to display the schedule of upcoming programs, track courses taken and make certain that the firm’s established core competencies are in alignment with the courses offered.

Whether it is training our lawyers in the basics of setting up their law practice, providing practical opportunities to learn substantive legal skills, mentoring to assist in developing career plans or providing diversity and technology training to all of our staff and lawyers, the firm’s commitment to training supports our philosophy that we can always improve and continue to grow as professionals.