Wednesday 6 October, 9:30am to 11am, taking place virtually
Welcome to the first in the series of The Legal Cheek Commercial Awareness Academy, a partnership with BARBRI and various leading law firms, designed to help boost students’ business and legal sector knowledge as they apply for training contracts.
The Academy kicks off on the morning of Wednesday 6 October with a session on law firm economics, delivered by Eversheds Sutherland partner Paula Gaddum.
Time: 9:30am to 11am
Location: Virtual event
Level: Students, Graduates
Paula will explain key themes including:
• The concept of hourly billing and lawyers charging for units of time
• Fixed fees and other ways to bill legal work
• The partnership model
• Law firm financials (including key concepts such as profit per equity partner and revenue/turnover)
• How law firms generate new business
• How the pandemic has affected law firms and what we can expect to see in 2022
Paula will also reflect on her career to date, including how she came to understand law firm economics as she developed professionally. And she’ll give her view too on what students need to know about this key branch of commercial awareness as they apply for vacation schemes and training contracts.
Paula’s talk will be followed by a Q&A between her and a Legal Cheek journalist to ensure full understanding of the topic. There will then be virtual networking with the BARBRI team.
This is the first in a series of five Commercial Awareness Academy sessions, running from October through to late spring 2022. After each session you will be required to sit a short test to demonstrate your understanding of the topic. If you pass all five tests you will receive a certificate of completion.