Professional Development Director

Foley & Lardner LLP is a great place to work because of what we do and how we do it. Here, your unique perspectives, experiences, and abilities will be embraced and developed, so you can excel. Being a part of Foley means having the opportunities and resources necessary to gain experience, advance professional goals, and forge meaningful connections. It’s a place where you can build your career and enjoy professionally satisfying work. We have over 2,300 people who are #HappyatFoley, and we think you will be too. 

Foley & Lardner has an opportunity for a Director, Professional Development to work collaboratively with all levels of Firm leadership in strategic planning, implementation, and management of training and development programs that support all people at the firm consistent with the objectives of the firm’s strategic plan. This includes helping build a unique experience for our people by utilizing technology and applying innovative concepts to expand and drive the firm’s approach to talent development across all roles.

Attorney Integration

• Design and implement comprehensive orientation programs for new attorneys, including the creation and execution of integration plans for lateral attorneys hired at all levels to the firm to ensure a smooth transition and early engagement with the existing platform.
• Oversee the annual New Associate Orientation program designed to introduce the newest members of the practice to the firm and the various resources available to support the trajectory of their careers.
• In close collaboration with curated integration teams, oversee the Foley & Lardner Lateral Partner Integration Program designed to support more senior lawyers transition their practices and realize synergistic opportunities on Foley’s platform, while holding all members of the team accountable for success.

Attorney Training

• Work with Department and Practice Group leadership teams, Training Partners and other Firm leadership, develop and implement legal and professional success skills training programs to enhance the general and practice-specific performance of attorneys at all levels.
• Develop and continuously assess the substantive learning needs of the firm’s lawyers across all practice groups, in close collaboration with Department and Practice Group leadership teams.
• Lead firmwide tenure-based programs where professional success skills are emphasized, including Tier II Academy, the Annual Senior Counsel Meeting, the Promoted Partner Program, and the PEAK partner learning series.
• Oversee the firm’s approach to and execution of CLE, including accreditation, compliance, and credit distribution.
• Conduct needs assessments and surveys on a periodic basis to determine effectiveness of content, sequencing, relevance, and format of all training courses including by analyzing feedback, tracking participation, and otherwise meaning the impact of training initiatives. 

Attorney Development

• Oversee the firm’s formal evaluation process and other attorney feedback programs to ensure clarity against performance goals, alignment with competencies, and the delivery of constructive feedback to improve attorney performance and productivity.
• Develop and continually evaluate role-based competencies for all levels of attorneys.
• Oversee, monitor, and continuously improve the attorney mentoring program, providing guidelines for both mentors and mentees.
• Provide guidance and support to firm lawyers across a variety of life-meets-career moments, including on taking appropriate advantage of firm programs and policies (g., attorney flexible schedule program, leave of absence, transfers of office/practice group, bar admission).
• Oversee the coordination of annual bar dues in all jurisdictions where the firm maintains an office.
• Oversee and guide the involuntary departure process for all non-partner attorneys, including the implementation of performance improvement plans as necessary, taking steps to provide adequate notice while mitigating risk to the firm.
• Conduct and report on exit interviews with all departing attorneys.

Learning & Development

• Oversee the design, development, and implementation of business professional training programs and initiatives to meet the evolving needs of the law firm, while considering the different requirements for the various roles and levels across the firm.
• Oversee the collaboration with other administrative groups to identify, assess, and develop appropriate training and delivery methods to achieve business objectives and performance improvement.
• Develop common training requirements for all personnel, including to address existing and new technology rollouts, customizing the curriculum as necessary by role.
• Provide production services for training content and development for both business professional and attorney-facing programs, inclusive of PowerPoint, QRS, and eLearning design.

General

• Drive engagement with training offerings through proactive communication through various firm channels and by leveraging Foley Academy, the firm’s learning management system.
• Collaborate with the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team to ensure Professional Development offerings provide support to all people in furtherance of the goal of creating a workplace where everyone can do their best.
• Report against established priorities, goals, and key performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of the Professional Development team, including presenting results and progress to senior firm leadership.
• Oversee the assessment and implementation of any technological systems used in Professional Development initiatives; utilize technology to design and develop innovative methods for delivering training content.
• Remain informed and up-to-date on the latest trends in Professional Development and apply relevant insights to the team’s initiatives.
• Evaluate external tools and vendors for engaging, scalable, and impactful solutions to Professional Development.
• Oversee the budget for the firm’s Professional Development programming and initiatives.

• Bachelor's Degree required, JD highly preferred.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of position-related experience such as legal practice in a large firm, professional development, and/or other legal talent-related experience required.
• Minimum of five (5) years in a management role, including experience working with senior leaders required.
• Large law firm or professional service firm experience strongly preferred. #LI-hybrid 

Pursuant to the New York, Washington DC and Illionis Pay Equity/Transparency Laws the salary range is between $220,000 - $320,000.  The actual offered amount will be determined based on the following factors: education, experience, geographic market, and internal pay equity at Foley.