Reed Smith is launching what
is, so far as I know, the first of its kind collaborative partnership
with the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Called
"Reed Smith University" (RSU), the program is a customized "executive
education" effort which will bring about 30 Reed-Smith practice managers,
office managing partners, and other firm leaders to the Wharton campus
each May for an intensive one-week immersion in courses covering leadership,
business development, professional support, technology, and law.
Wharton has a reputation for tailoring similar executive education programs
for the usual F100 suspects including Merck, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and
IBM, but according to a Wharton spokesperson, this is the first time
a law firm has done it.
John
F. Smith, III, a partner at Reed-Smith’s Philadelphia office, will
serve as the first RSU "Chancellor," coordinating between Wharton and
the Reed-Smith partnership and helping design and fine-tune the curriculum. While
grades will not be awarded, independent contractors will evaluate the
program’s overall impact with a view to highlighting what works and what
doesn’t.
My reaction? Nearly awe-struck at the vision of Reed-Smith to
undertake this venture. You’ve heard me say it before, but conceptually
nothing differentiates AmLaw 100 firms as businesses from similarly sized
corporations, and the time for truly professionalized management has
long since arrived. As Lynn Phillips, head of Wharton’s executive
education program, put
it:
“I just think it shows the growing need for business development and management skills in the legal profession. I think this shows that Reed Smith recognizes how businesses are oriented today and they want to make sure that its top talent has this perspective.”
The start of a trend? It is devoutly to be wished.
