The Associate Development Expectations are the foundation of the Associate Professional Development Program (APDP) and our associates’ development. They consist of performance standards and skill sets in areas such as legal writing, communications, substantive practice area knowledge, teamwork and project leadership, practice management, and business development that are tailored to an associate’s level of experience. The Associate Development Expectations serve as benchmarks against which an associate and the PGs can measure professional development.

Each Associate is asked to draft a Professional Development Plan (PDP) identifying his or her developmental goals for the coming year. The associate prepares the PDP with the help of a mentor, who is assigned through the firm’s Mentoring Program, meets with his or her associate mentee on a regular basis to review professional development progress, and participates in the mentee’s Annual Evaluation Meeting to better understand the professional development goals the PG has established for the associate.

The Annual Evaluation Meeting is a highly interactive process in which associates meet with their PG leaders to discuss past performance, assess progress in achieving their PDP goals, and identify appropriate Associate Development Expectations for the coming year. This discussion provides associates with a clear understanding of their performance, as well as the PG’s developmental expectations as they move through their careers at Morgan Lewis.

The APDP’s Training Program provides associates access to a wide variety of in-house training opportunities that support their development at varying stages of their careers. The Training Program provides a standardized firm-level curriculum for all associates regardless of PG affiliation or geographic location. These programs, in conjunction with the PG-based training offered by the individual PGs, focus on the knowledge and skill requirements set forth in the Associate Development Expectations and the needs of the PG. Similarly, PG-based Assignment Processes ensure that associates are provided with work experiences that promote their ongoing professional development, while at the same ensuring superior client service consistent with Morgan Lewis’s standards of excellence.