First Year Associate Program
In June 2009, Frost Brown Todd LLC ("FBT") announced a new program for our first-year associates that we will launch in Fall 2009. FBT is offering an innovative approach to hiring and training new associates - our goal at the end of year one is to have the best trained class of second-year associates in our region ... to make better lawyers faster. We are working to develop lawyers who better understand our clients' business objectives and how to practice law and deliver value far earlier in their careers. That's a win-win-win for the associate, the client and the firm.
There are five basic components to the FBT First Year Associate Program:
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Reduced Billable Hour Goal/Addition of Training Goal (1000 hour training requirement and a substantially reduced billable hour commitment -- only 1000 hours). We consider this to be one of the most important components of our new program. Relieving partners of the pressure to make sure all of the time spent by first year associates is billable to clients will permit more meaningful "live" training and skill development opportunities and more hands-on involvement with clients. Associates will be able to "shadow" lawyers to depositions, client meetings, etc., and will have more "guest chair time" in the offices of experienced lawyers.
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Knowledge Coach. Each associate will be assigned a "Knowledge Coach." The coaches will be some of our most productive and successful partners with a track record of superior commitment to training. The coach will spend the year finding hundreds of hours of opportunities for the associate to learn how to practice law by observing the coach and other attorneys in the firm in trial, deposition, on client calls, closing transactions, drafting and the like. The coach will make sure that any observation opportunities are meaningful. The goal is to get the associate in a courtroom, on a deal and/or observing a skilled lawyer in year one even if some of that time will not be billed to a client.
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Secrets of Success. From September through December, we will conduct an intensive business skills training program. We will focus this training on the core skills and strategies of successful business people. Research shows what sets star performers apart (in the business world, legal world and beyond) are the strategic ways top performers do their jobs - work habits which encourage initiative and networking, make for star performance. We will provide specific training and outside speakers on these core work strategies that have defined our most successful attorneys. Of course, this training will supplement extensive substantive legal skills training that will occur concurrently at the practice group level.
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Placement Opportunities with Clients and Non-Profit Organizations. We will identify opportunities for our associates to spend several weeks with clients learning their businesses and in our communities helping our nonprofit organizations. We want our new associates to see how the client's legal department operates, but are equally interested in their learning how the client runs the business from which legal issues actually arise.
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Billable time. Traditional billable tasks will continue to provide some of the training. First year associates can add value to client projects and learn their craft through research, writing and other meaningful assignments which clients find valuable.
With respect to compensation, in the inaugural year of this program, FBT has set first-year associate salaries at $80,000 across all our offices. We believe this salary aligns with the value of a first-year associate's services in our markets and accounts for the reduced billing responsibilities that permit earlier and more meaningful training and skill development. Starting salary for 2010 will be determined in Spring/Early Summer 2010. We do anticipate that first-year associates who perform well in the FBT First Year Associate Program will have their salaries adjusted in the second-year to be consistent and competitive with second-year salaries in our region. Our philosophy is that lawyers who become better faster will be paid competitively. Such lawyers have always succeeded financially over the longer term at our firm, and that will not change. This is a long term investment in our firm, our lawyers' and our clients' futures.
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