The emphasis given to training and development in Asia has increased dramatically in recent years, as both private practice firms and in-house legal departments seek to invest more in the development of their legal teams - both to keep up with and stand out from the competition, and to keep abreast of the rapidly developing legal landscape that is Asia.

The training revolution is taking the form of increased investment in a variety of training solutions, from traditional legal training to business skills and courses in 'softer' skills, and from the level of junior recruits and associates right through to senior partners and general counsel. Ongoing training is now part of the culture of the Asian legal profession.

Evidence of this is seen in the take-up of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme, now very much part of the legal education fabric in Hong Kong. The Law Society of Singapore is also in its second year of a pilot project to gather data for the future implementation of a mandatory CPD scheme for the profession.

The CPD scheme in Hong Kong has been mandatory for solicitors and trainee solicitors since 1998, and was extended to all solicitors in 2003. Based on the Law Society's annual report, it accredited a total of nearly 4,000 courses, up from about 3,500 in 2004. Out of this 4,000, about 2,800 courses were conducted by law firms for internal training purposes.

The dynamism of the Asian market and the war for talent in the region means that firms will need to increase this emphasis over time if they are to attract and hold on to the right candidates and ensure that the best quality legal advice is provided to their clients.

The case for training and development
In a good position to have observed the trend towards more investment in training and development, Daljit Singh, the global professional development director for international firm Baker & McKenzie, says much has to do with recruitment and retention.

"I have been with the firm four years, and I came from a big four accounting firm. At partner level, there is much more significant investment taking place right now than before - there was investment before, but it has been ramped up," he says.

"There have been a lot more global projects in the people area, brought about by a recognition by the firm five or six years ago that the recruitment market was heating up, and a recognition of what is important to professionals. The firm wanted to make sure it had the environment that people are attracted to and wanted to stay with," he explained.

For Freshfields, the benefits of training programs are similar. "We see training and development as a recruitment and retention tool," head of practice development for the firm in China, Katherine Chapman says. "If requested by the candidate, we provide details of our training programs at the interview stage, and the partners are always keen to share details of what training is happening in our offices during the interview."

The recruitment benefits of training are similar right across Asia. Yuko Tamai from Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu in Japan says training plays a big part in recruiting new lawyers. The firm recruited the most of the big four firms in the latest round of hires.

However, the drivers for investment in training are much more diverse than just recruitment. As Asia develops rapidly, and the legal market changes in multiple jurisdictions almost daily, more demands are being placed on lawyers to keep pace with these changes.

"Clients want to work with lawyers who are not just technically and legally excellent, but are commercially minded and have a very good understanding of the markets and sectors they are working in," Freshfields' Chapman says.

"Our training programs are along the lines of developing solid business skills in lawyers and providing them with forums to learn more about the China and Japan market - both the trends and industry sectors," she says.

In China, King & Wood has been evolving its young training program in an effort to keep up to date with the market and stand out from the competition.

"China's legal system is changing very rapidly - the bankruptcy law has just come out, the antitrust draft law has just come out - we want to keep up with the change," Hong-Kong based partner Ching-Wo Ng says.

"China's legal market is also very competitive - local firms in China are trying very hard to operate with knowledge, expertise and new techniques, so we have to keep up ourselves, or people will overwhelm us in that sense," he says.

"Also right now China's legal market is not as closed as before, and all the international firms are operating there. The Chinese profession want to catch up with the world, so upgrading becomes a significant aspect of legal practice."

Working hard on soft skills
The type of training being offered to lawyers at all levels of practice is very diverse and reflects a growing sophistication in the approach to internal training.

According to the Law Society of Hong Kong, the majority of courses given over the last two years reflect the trend in focus of legal practice - corporate finance, commercial, company, PRC law, civil litigation, intellectual property and lawyers' skills.

Compared with the statistics available for 2003/04 and 2004/05, the types of courses that showed a marked increase, both for courses conducted by law firms for in-house training and public courses, were corporate finance and skills courses.

It is this increase in emphasis on skills that is being backed up verbally by those involved in the professional development of legal teams.

"The hottest training here at the moment is negotiation skills training," Chapman says. "Freshfields also provides delegation and transaction management skills training."

Likewise, King & Wood is instituting skills training at its partners meeting in 2007. This will cover oral communication skills, negotiation skills and team building. It is also looking at building soft skills courses in other areas such as time and stress management (for younger lawyers and partners), presentation skills and legal drafting skills.

Bakers is doing similar things. At the partner level, it is offering courses on work-life balance, stress management and healthy eating and lifestyle among others.

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu also has commissioned training for its new recruits on how to conduct business in a polite manner - so important for Japanese lawyers in Japan.

It is these soft skills or lawyers' skills that will be the growth area in training, as firms seek to offer more to retain their talent and also produce well-rounded individuals who are able to service clients professionally and effectively.

More traditional business and legal courses are, of course, also still a focus. One prong of Baker & McKenzie's training program is an online training resource that keeps lawyers up to date with legal developments through short articles, tip sheets and past practice examples. Freshfields in China is focused on training PRC recruits in English law, and likewise getting its common law lawyers to grips with PRC law.

Key to practice in Asia is, of course, language skills, and many firms are also offering courses across a variety of languages - particularly Mandarin - due to China's growth.

Top to bottom
Firms are also providing a variety of different training solutions to cater for their different levels of lawyers - from new junior recruits right up to partner level.

At senior partner level, Champan says, it is not so much about core technical legal training but developing leaders in the practice areas the firm is working in. "One-on-one coaching is available, and lawyers participate in firm-wide development programs designed to develop interpersonal skills and leadership qualities," she says.

Bakers has developed 12 courses for its partners as part of its global development framework, which are now offered at partner meetings. They cover a range of skills, from client service and business development courses (such as selling skills, business planning, pitching to win and developing counsel of choice relationships), people management (including developing associates and leading high performance teams), as well as matter management (project management, billing and risk management).

At the senior associate level, firms are providing management skills training, in order to equip them for the increasing responsibilities they take on. Strategy, business development, communications, accounting and finance are key areas covered.

At the junior level, the most emphasis is still on legal skills training. At Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, the firm recently took its group of new recruits through a month-long induction program, including time offsite, in order to introduce them to more legal issues and attempt to bond the young lawyers with each other early on.

Firms are choosing to use a mix of internal and external providers for training. In Asian jurisdictions such as China and Japan, a large portion of training is provided by visiting foreign lawyers who give presentations on their area of specialty. For soft skills, firms are looking to outsource to training companies that understand the legal market.

The biggest challenge firms are facing, however, is having the time in which to train their employees. "I believe all firms are facing the challenge of training programs conflicting with client work demands - our people are incredibly busy and client work always comes first," Chapman says.

King & Wood, which is beginning to send young lawyers for a stint with friendly firms in the US to give them overseas training, is also facing this difficulty. "The problem is to find people who have the time - the people who are the best and brightest are usually the most busy," Ching-Wo Ng says.

International training continues to be of great significance to lawyers who are looking for a firm in which to develop their careers.

Training for the future
It is clear the lawyers will continue to demand more from their employer of choice in regard to training and development, especially in such a hot recruitment market.

"Lawyers are asking, 'What will I get out of working with ABC law firm?' People are looking for solid job experience, mentoring and feedback to develop their skills," Singh says.

With the growing emphasis on ongoing education, firms will have to adapt to this environment, or risk stagnating when it comes to offering new talent a solid platform from which to continually grow their skills and careers.