Skadden Trains Associates With MBA-Type Program

Three years of law school just isn’t enough, it seems.

As reported in Bloomberg Businessweek , Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP gives its new associates five weeks of intensive business training, which they refer to as a mini- “virtual MBA.” The approach is part of a growing push to equip lawyers with a deep understanding of finance and accounting at the start of their careers.

“We were looking for a way to prepare people to hit the ground running,” said Jodie Garfinkel, director of attorney development and professional personnel at Skadden. “We want to prepare people to add as much value as they can, as quickly as they can.”

Skadden’s first-year associates, who generally start in September, learn the basics of income statements, balance sheets and cash flows. They get a crash course in corporate valuation and learn the fundamentals of mergers and acquisitions. They film themselves giving presentations and review the videos to study their communication style.

“It’s safe to say that it’s the stuff you would learn in your first year in business school, that — at least up until recently — law schools weren’t focusing on,” said Jennifer Pangione, an attorney development manager at the firm.

Garfinkel said the program started on the heels of the recession, when corporate clients were paying additional attention to the cost of legal services. “As there was greater need to prove that new associates were adding value, this was one of the places that seemed obvious to us,” she said.