Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance launches academy in Asia Pacific to provide lawyers well-rounded training in a cross-border environment

International law firm Clifford Chance has launched the Clifford Chance Academy to provide high quality technical legal and advanced business skills training to over 570 lawyers in the Asia Pacific region across the full spectrum of legal services that the Firm provides.

With the aim of developing well-rounded lawyers, the Firm's Academy provides courses that have been created by global and regional experts in their areas of specialty, and also gives lawyers further opportunities to meet and work with colleagues from other parts of the Firm, regionally and globally.

Based in the Singapore office of Clifford Chance, the Academy for Asia Pacific is at the vanguard of a rapidly growing and dynamic legal industry in the region, and is thus well positioned to serve Clifford Chance’s Asia Pacific footprint, including its Formal Law Alliance (FLA) partner in Singapore, Cavenagh Law, and Clifford Chance's associated firm in Jakarta, Linda Widyati & Partners.

“The opportunity for our team to learn from, and collaborate with, colleagues across the region and globally, as well as the luminaries from outside the Firm, will provide our lawyers at all levels with a world-class training environment and an extra edge in their technical legal and professional skills. Our investment in our team to help them to reach their full potential is a key part of our global strategy aimed at developing talent and driving continuous innovation for our clients,” said Geraint Hughes, Managing Partner, Clifford Chance, Singapore.

“Singapore is the ideal location for the Clifford Chance Academy to serve the Asia Pacific region because of its important role in the development of the legal industry in the region,” added Hughes.

“We are delighted that, through the Academy, we will be able to provide our lawyers and business services staff access to world-class training and exposure to sector expertise at an even deeper level. This capitalises on our Formal Law Alliance with Clifford Chance, bringing expertise from across the world into Singapore to help develop our team and strengthen Singapore's status as a legal hub,” said Cavenagh Law’s Managing Partner, Harpreet Singh Nehal, SC.

The courses are designed in a variety of formats, from half-day seminars for large audiences to two-day sector workshops for smaller groups to accommodate a cross-section of sophisticated training needs.

There will be dedicated courses designed to enhance the technical legal skills of lawyers from induction courses for key legal skills through to in-depth product and sector induction programmes and detailed technical masterclasses.

There will also be training that focuses on developing business skills of lawyers: from ‘Development Centres’ that focus on the building  of business skills for lawyers at key stages of their careers; through the 'Senior Associate Induction' programme; to the 'Future Leaders' programme, aimed at those who demonstrate strong leadership and partnership potential. The programme allows lawyers to move smoothly through their structured career path at Clifford Chance.

A key highlight in the Academy’s offering is the 'Distinguished Speaker' series that involves a range of external speakers, including business leaders, politicians,  policy makers, professors and QCs, as well as senior partners from the Clifford Chance network, giving talks on their areas of specialty.

Through the Academy, the firm will continue to work closely with the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) to deliver preparatory courses leading up to the Bar Examinations, which have already benefited 300 students in Singapore with another 180 already signed up for the year.

Business services staff will also benefit from the Academy through development programmes that include Coaching Skills, Working in a Demanding Environment and Project Management.

Clifford Chance set up its Academy offering in 1999 and now has operations in Amsterdam, London and Africa, providing training to its global network of lawyers. The Clifford Chance Academy for Asia Pacific brings this unique training offering much closer to the region, where the scale and breadth of Clifford Chance’s offering continue to grow.