Ideally, to get the best results, in-person interviews must take place prior to developing the training curriculum. In-person interviews establish familiarity between trainer and participant, open lines of communication, and allow the trainer the opportunity to identify common and unique needs of each attorney. Experienced external trainers are especially helpful at this stage since attorneys are often more open with outside professionals experienced in attorney training. Once the personal assessments have taken place, the curriculum must be tailored to the specific needs and situations of participating attorneys. A training program will yield less than measurable results if it is not appropriately and adequately tailored in response to participants needs.
Market studies show that adults learn and retain best through an interchange of information.
Therefore, stand-alone lectures and canned programs are a recipe for failure. Not only do ineffective training programs reduce the opportunity for results significantly, but many also cause an immediate and long term loss of attorney's interest and participation in training. Nothing is more natural to attorneys than to learn a procedure, adjust it and apply it to the set of facts before them immediately. This is precisely why specific situations need to be identified up-front and attorneys encouraged to apply new techniques immediately. Therefore, consistent follow-up with and by attorneys is a key component to success.