As part of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren’s ongoing commitment to professional development, the large US firm embarked on a training program to certify the technical skills of its associates and administrative assistants. It selected a training program offered by the Training & Adoption practice of legal technology experts Wilson Allen to meet this need.
The training program’s goal was for people to better understand overall workflow processes and be more productive using several software solutions, including iManage, Microsoft Office, and associated legal applications.
Choosing a proven training solution
Reinhart selected Wilson Allen’s training certification program because it maps on-demand content and evaluation tools to the Legal Technology Core Competencies Certification Coalition (LTC4) core competency learning plans, enabling attorneys and staff to become LTC4 certified.
Mary Fredrich, IT training coordinator at Reinhart, explains why the firm selected the Wilson Allen program.
“I was referred to Sue Pasfield with Wilson Allen by one of my contacts. Sue was very engaging and took the time to learn about our needs and walk us through the training process,” she says.
“The fact that the program is approved by LTC4, along with the Wilson Allen training team’s knowledge of the LTC4 certification process, solidified our decision.”
Kicking off the program
Fredrich got buy-in for the training program after explaining the initiative and its benefits to key firm members. “We provided them with background information about the LTC4 certification process and the scope of the project,” she says. “For simplicity, our approach was to divide each competency into different phases and deadlines.”
Supporting client service through greater competency
Reinhart used many courseware assets from Wilson Allen’s on-demand portfolio, including KnowledgeCheck to track and evaluate skills. “We uploaded all of the courseware into our learning management system (LMS), which allowed us to track completion and submit results to LTC4 for certification,” Fredrich says. “Having this information in our LMS also allowed us to track progress for skills reviews and ongoing training.”
All users were trained within the timeframe established for each competency. The firm’s assistants, staff, and associates completed 452 learning paths.
“It was an easy program to implement to deliver the targeted training our people needed. It also gave us a baseline for each person to build knowledge as we offer more training,” Fredrich adds.
Additionally, staff members can apply credits earned during the training program to their annual requirement to attend 15 hours of live training. Even without this incentive, people seem more interested in attending training sessions than before. “Investing time in training not only makes a big difference in our performance, but it has also made our people more eager to learn in general,” she adds.
Accomplishing tasks more efficiently
“Initially, some of our assistants were reticent about going through training, but that changed pretty quickly,” Fredrich explains. “They started to see how much easier and faster it could be to complete some tasks, which motivated them to keep learning.”
Several attorneys reported a significant improvement in their assistant’s knowledge of the software applications and ability to accomplish tasks more efficiently. “Their knowledge and understanding became very apparent when people began working from home due to the pandemic,” Fredrich adds. “It was clear how well most assistants knew their applications and were, therefore, able to adapt quickly.”
About Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren meets the ever-evolving needs of today’s business with innovation, focus, and commitment. The firm provides accessible, responsive service to public and privately held corporations, financial institutions, family-owned businesses, Taft-Hartley retirement plans, exempt organizations, and individuals.
www.reinhartlaw.com
About Wilson Allen
Wilson Allen’s specialists are trusted by the operational leaders of the world’s largest law firms and professional services organizations. We deliver the projects, the consulting, and the managed services our customers need to run their businesses more profitably by optimizing their business applications, technology, and data.