Upping the Legal Training Ante

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP's (Womble Carlyle) technology training and online learning programs were in need of an upgrade. The firm's overall program was originally designed around using local trainers in specific offices to assist with hands-on training and address individual lawyer technology challenges through traditional, classroom-based training methods. Even the onboarding of new talent was handled in the traditional way ' seat the new hire in a room for days and inundate them with firm applications, policies and procedures. But, unprecedented firm growth, heightened emphasis on developing lawyers' core technology competencies, and a need to streamline and automate existing e-learning processes led the firm to initiate a fundamental shift. As part of this core change, our firm outsourced its entire technology training delivery and reorganized around on-demand learning, distance learning and virtual coaching. Led by Lori Patton, the firm's Chief Learning Officer and me, Director of Technology Services, we pursued a new strategy: partnering with technology training and learning specialist Encoretech to develop and deliver the firm's new live distance training and coaching program.