Simmons to put all trainees through bespoke MBA course
Simmons & Simmons is overhauling its graduate recruitment programme by requiring all of its future trainees to undertake its dedicated legal MBA.
Alex Brown
The MBA, which was introduced in 2009, was originally offered to students as an optional alternative to the traditional route to sit after the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and prior to the training contract (12 March 2008).
Future trainees due to start at the top 20 firm in September 2014 will now begin the MBA during an accelerated LPC at BPP Law School, and then continue the course throughout the two-year training contract.
Graduate recruitment partner Alex Brown said: “After monitoring very closely the benefits the MBA is delivering we think it’s very worthwhile and adds a lot of value to the trainees.
“We’ve had some really positive feedback that the skills and experience trainees gain from the course are valuable not only to the individual, but to our clients and wider firm.”
The new format will give the trainees the opportunitiy to gain a diploma at the end of their training contracts, and a MBA qualifcation if they continue the course for two years post-qualification.
The news comes after Eversheds introduced the first combined LPC and training contract, which will see trainees complete their electives during their training period (12 December 2011).
Readers' comments (6)
Sceptical law student | 28-Jun-2012 4:22 pm
So if I understand this correctly, Simmons wants its trainees to combine the MBA with the LPC, the training contract and the 2 years PQE??? Is that even doable?? Welcome to no work/life balance at Simmons class of 2014!
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Anonymous | 29-Jun-2012 7:53 am
@Sceptical law student:
Most part-time (exec) MBA courses are completed within 2 years, so no reason why the Simmons version can't be completed in 5 years.
Simmons is ahead of the curve here, an MBA adds lot of basic financial and business knowledge when compared with the training UK lawyers have typically received. It is brave, too, of Simmons - lawyers with an MBA will have more opportunity to branch out into different careers if that is their desire. In the long run, Simmons must be hoping such employees will retain significant goodwill towards the firm.
I think this will be something that will attract ambitious candidates and improve Simmons' ability to recruit the best and brightest.
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hmmmm | 29-Jun-2012 8:08 am
Another hoop to jump through before qualification. One has to ask why other, superior, firms haven't followed the same route?
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Anonymous | 1-Jul-2012 4:05 pm
Accent on the word "bespoke"? Does it happen to mean not quite the full time 12 month MBA undertaken by those developing their careeer in industry after a few years of leaving university when they have some experience for the MBA learning to mean something? Good on S&S though for acting on the recognition that lawyers should have a better grasp on business and commerce than many currently do.
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Nicholas Iles | 6-Jul-2012 2:19 pm
If Simmons sees a noticeable increase in revenue after 2014 that could in some way be attributed to its NQs having taken MBAs, then we could say the decision made business sense. If there isn't, then we could call it window-dressing - it's too early to come to conclusions.
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Rae | 7-Sep-2012 10:54 am
@Nicholas: I think it's myopic to assume that every bit of training must have a visible effect on revenue. It would be impossible to conclude whether the MBA had any effect on the revenue - what if the market continued downwards? i think the point is that the MBA makes Simmons lawyers better able to understand client concerns - which could have a significant effect on client-lawyer relationships, for example, and improve the image of the firm - which could of course lead to more revenue, but it'd be impossible to say otherwise.
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