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Training and Development

Training and development opportunities are essential to your career as a Fennemore Craig attorney. We take a long term approach and invest in associates to give you the necessary tools to develop your skills as an attorney and achieve your goals – whether that be first-chairing a trial, negotiating complex transactions, developing a particular practice area, serving on a board or some other pursuit. Our goal is to provide the resources to allow you to discover your own interests and develop your own practice in a professional, enjoyable and sustainable manner. Our training opportunities start when you join our team as a summer associate and continue throughout your practice.

As a Summer Associate

When you become a summer associate, you become a member of our team. From the beginning we provide you with tools you’ll need to succeed as an attorney at Fennemore Craig. We believe that once you have joined our team, there is no reason to wait to provide you with those resources. Summer associates enjoy one-on-one mentoring, direct substantive reviews from assigning attorneys and meetings with members of the Hiring Committee to assist in the transition to working in a law firm. In addition, we welcome and encourage all summer associates to attend practice group meetings for any areas of work that spark their interest. We also arrange visits to clients’ facilities so summer associates can get to know our clients and what they do.

We offer several training sessions regarding research, legal writing and other skills that you will use on a daily basis in your practice. We provide summer associates practical training opportunities hosted by attorneys at the firm. These programs allow summer associates to shadow, and sometimes participate, in various day-to-day activities to see what the practice of law at Fennemore Craig is really like. In previous years, summer associates have watched trials, oral arguments, negotiations, client conferences, depositions, closings and hosts of other activities. Interested in seeing something in particular? Just ask! We have attorneys on the summer associate committee dedicated to that purpose.

As a New Associate

In addition to an initial orientation, associates receive specific programs designed to actively assist in the transition from law school to private practice. One highlight is our "Effective Lawyering Training Program" – a continuing series of training sessions hosted by firm associates and directors, designed to deal with issues specifically affecting new associates and providing practical suggestions on day-to-day issues such as professionalism, responding to clients, business development, oral advocacy and communication, and other topics.

Another highlight is our "Advocacy Training Program" designed to teach the nuts and bolts of litigation to all new litigation associates. This six-month program allows new litigation associates to take a mock case from its inception, through discovery, and to trial. "Advocacy Training Program" participants experience all of the components of the litigation process, including client interviews, preparation of pleadings, written discovery, depositions, motion practice, oral argument in front of a real judge in a real courtroom, pretrial motions, proceedings and a jury trial presided over by a real judge. At every step of the way our attorneys present training sessions on each component. We treat the "Advocacy Training Program" as an actual case. Our associates have uniformly stated that it provides an invaluable experience in understanding the interrelated components of litigation.

Continuing Training

In addition to continuing formal training programs such as practice group meetings, scheduled training sessions and other opportunities, our open door culture encourages associates to meet and discuss issues with any attorney at the firm. We are committed to providing every associate with a high level of experience and responsibility from the onset. Where you take it is all up to you!