A new Queen’s Law program teaches students and early-career practitioners the business of law. It’s now available online internationally.
“Our Graduate Diploma in Legal Services Management is unique in Canada,” says Dean Bill Flanagan. “No other program offers the fundamentals of business for the practice of law. It fits the busy schedules of law students, articling professionals, and practising lawyers by being available 100 per cent online, and is taught by leading faculty and practitioners.”
Regardless of where a new law grad’s career takes him or her – from private practice to in-house work, public service or not-for-profits – the business of law matters. The intersection of business skills, law and management isn’t currently taught at most Canadian law schools. With the new Graduate Diploma in Legal Services Management, Queen’s Law directly addresses a crucial skills gap in the legal workforce.
“Our alumni have been sharing one insight with me for years,” says Flanagan. “Lawyers are graduating from law schools with a great knowledge of the law, but with a deficit in what they need to know to hit the ground running in practice. They have routinely identified financial literacy, business acumen, team management and project planning as skills now essential to the profession.”
Disruptive technology, new models for working and collaboration, and demand for greater efficiency are changing the way legal organizations operate. In order to succeed, legal professionals need to quickly understand and address client needs. Increasingly, the lawyers who thrive are those who understand their clients’ realities.
Queen’s Law has taken concrete steps to address this, working with Director Shai Dubey, Law’94, the program’s Academic Director, as well as the Executive Director of Undergraduate and Professional Programs at Queen’s Law and a Distinguished Faculty Fellow of Business Law at the Smith School of Business.
“In designing this program, we asked the industry, ‘What do young legal professionals need to know?’ Their feedback built this program,” says Dubey. “We identified the skills that firms think are critical, creating a program that ensures young lawyers and law school graduates are effective right away – ensuring our profession will survive into the future, shaping access to justice and how services are provided.”
Working directly with alumni at leading law firms, listening to their needs, Queen’s Law built the program’s curriculum. Students take LSM 810 and LSM 820, and any two of the remaining three courses to complete their Diploma:
LSM 810: Financial Literacy for Lawyers
Learn how accounting works, how financial statements are constructed, and how to discern the story they tell. Get an insight into law firm financial management, business valuations, and income tax. It includes a look at fraud and fraud risk – things every lawyer should be aware of.
LSM 820: Fundamentals of Legal Services Business
Learn the core functions of business: strategy, marketing, operations, and business development through theory, examples and practical application. This course will help you to be a better advisor to your clients by understanding and responding to what’s important to them – and be more effective in operating your own practice.
LSM 830: Shaping the Future of Legal Practice
Explore the economic, political, technological, and demographic forces shaping legal services today. Learn how to innovate and harness the forces of change to enjoy a more rewarding career.
LSM 840: Working with Teams & Managing People
Learn how to become a great leader, bringing together and effectively running multi-disciplinary teams. Understand how to manage and motivate people to ensure that your career and legal practice flourishes.
LSM 850: Project Management for Lawyers
Learn the skills required by law firms and law departments around the work to make effective use of the tools and best practices of legal project management. The course will focus on how to use proven techniques to deliver better results for clients – and lay the foundation towards gaining your certification as a Project Management Professional.
Queen’s Law students enjoy a unique benefit in the program: they can take LSM 810 and LSM 830 as part of their JD program, allowing them to complete 50 per cent of the Graduate Diploma as part of their regular JD studies.
Admission to this program is now open, with courses beginning in May.
“This Graduate Program is a significant addition to our law school,” says Flanagan. “It will be of great use to both young legal professionals, and to the firms that hire them.”
For more information and to register, visit the Queen’s Graduate Diploma in Legal Services Management website.