Professional Development

Continuing Education

Education never ends at Sutherland. Everyone from summer associates to senior partners participates in both formal and informal programs designed to sharpen skills, integrate new attorneys into the firm and increase understanding of topics important to our clients. These programs, overseen by our cross-office Professional Development Committee, demonstrate our commitment to the advancement of each Sutherland attorney.

SABLE (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan Legal Education), our nationally ranked, in-house training program, offers more than 100 substantive and skills-based programs year round, most of which qualify for CLE credit.  Current training topics include recent developments in our practice areas, ethics and professionalism, finance and accounting, advanced legal writing and management skills.  Sutherland is fortunate to have an on-site mock courtroom, complete with state-of-the-art technology.  Lessons learned from trial advocacy, negotiation and other offered courses resonate even more in this real world environment.  

In addition to SABLE training, Sutherland offers a variety of orientation and integration programs.  We request that new associates attend a two-day firm orientation event designed to ease the transition into practice.  Our career planning program, one of the first of its kind in the country, outlines a unique approach to career counseling through customized individual planning.  We also offer a structured mentorship program, through which we encourage regular feedback and interaction with attorneys of all levels by pairing each associate with both an experienced associate and partner advisor.  These advisors are available to answer any questions our new associates may have regarding life at Sutherland.

Sutherland regularly hosts a number of off-site retreats, including events geared toward specific practice groups, diverse attorneys and women attorneys.  Agendas at past meetings have included partner-led workshops on practice growth and pathways to partnership, as well as client-led discussions of expectations.

For detailed information on professional development at Sutherland, please click here.