Baker & McKenzie

Baker & McKenzie: Cultivating leadership across a global team
Beginning with a single office in Chicago and growing to 69 offices in 38 countries, Baker & McKenzie employs more than 3,000 locally qualified, internationally experienced lawyers. This continuous, rapid growth has lead to opportunities for top performing associates to move quickly into the ranks of management.

"Create special training opportunities for our top performers."
Management skills are not typically emphasized in law schools. So Baker & McKenzie’s senior partners began to search for a means of cultivating management expertise and leadership skills among its associates. "We emphasize professional development across the board," said David Coleman, Director of Learning and Development, reporting to Baker and McKenzie’s COO. "But it was clear we needed to create special training opportunities for our top performers – [especially] those with the potential to provide the leadership we needed."

Leadership characteristics
Harvard Business Publishing provided Baker & McKenzie with development programs that support key skill areas and map directly to the four characteristics deemed essential to strong leadership in the firm: superior intellect, dedication to excellence, the ability to form affiliations, and organizational savvy and persuasiveness. Program components include Case in Point^TM, Harvard ManageMentor, and Leadership Transitions.

Strong results and performance
Harvard Business Publishing online programs and the wide array of assessment tools they include have become part of Baker and McKenzie’s performance evaluation process. The clarity of the firm’s expectations of its associates, combined with these programs, has made it easier for associates to set career goals and work continually toward achieving them. "The resources we’ve purchased from Harvard Business Publishing provide our associates with day-to-day performance support, and reinforce our own management development and training initiatives," explained Coleman.