Demand from lawyers for specialist non-legal courses has prompted one of the key providers of legal training to move their short professional development courses from the law school to the business school.

BPP is refocusing its classroom courses for lawyers to offer financially based or other industry-based training, with legal update training provided mainly online or in response to specific in-house requests.

Jason Maley, programme leader at BPP Business School, says: ‘Many lawyers are turning to online updates for law, but they also want to understand in more depth how the other professional sectors and their clients operate.’

Industry knowledge

How easy is it for lawyers to either get into, or keep up to date with, the specialist non-legal knowledge they need to give effective advice to clients in very technical areas, such as the scientific end of IP, medicine, engineering, telecoms, tax or insurance?

Maley says BPP is looking at how it can develop courses at a level lawyers need to know. Courses so far include forensic accountancy, understanding medical terminology and records, and forensic courses for criminal practitioners so they can better cross-examine pathologists on their investigations and understand how crime scenes should be examined.

‘Most lawyers pick up knowledge on the job and through interaction with their clients and experts,’ says Maley. ‘However, if they really want to get an edge and impress clients, having more in-depth industry knowledge in this competitive environment must help.’

Historically, it has not been easy to access these sorts of courses, but Maley says there is a growing market. ‘With ABSs coming, lawyers may find themselves working alongside other professions,’ he says. ‘So lawyers will need to understand how they work as well.’

A good port of call for non-legal courses and seminars are specialist societies or institutes. Most are open to solicitors, who can join as associate members or pay higher fees to attend training as non-members.

Examples include the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) and the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA). The RSM has a Clinical Forensic & Legal Medicine Section, which runs meetings and courses. It also publishes four journals on clinical risk, clinical ethics, medicine, science and the law, and the Medico-Legal Journal, which are available online or in print.

CIPA provides non-legal training in two broad areas – in business practice, such as international filing practice and strategic management of IP, and in developments in technical fields. Future courses include one-hour webinars on topics such as biological deposits and a life sciences conference.

Within the more traditional continuing professional development (CPD) sector, Central Law Training (CLT) runs courses which concentrate on wider issues than just the law, such as understanding medical reports, understanding personality disorders and parental substance abuse.

‘Some sell for a while and then may lose favour,’ says CLT director Nigel Wilkinson. It also advertises accountancy, finance and tax courses run by CLT’s associate company Quorum Training to high-level lawyers. ‘One example is derivatives fundamentals,’ he says. ‘How much more niche can you get? The more advanced you are in your career, the more this sort of in-depth knowledge helps you represent your client more effectively.

'Also, when it comes to litigation, it is important to understand not only what your expert is saying, but also what the other side’s expert comes up with and where you may be open to attack.’

The specialist groups representing different practice areas also offer training options. For in-house lawyers, the Commerce & Industry Group offers some specialist courses, such as one on derivatives and Treasury products.

Gordon Youngson, legal advisor with UK Payments Administration, works in the banking and payment industry. He looks to the C&I Group for update courses, but turns to as many other sources as he can to build up significant knowledge of how the sector works. ‘I rely on a lot of my own sources internally – so contacts within the business units here or the companies we work for keep us informed about possible consultations for changes in the business environment,’ he says.

A great proportion of his work relies on his awareness of changes in the regulatory environment – which come from the Bank of England, HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority. ‘If colleagues don’t alert me to changes in these three bodies, I would expect to receive it from email updates, external solicitors and business news,’ he adds.

In translation

Rachel Wellman is a solicitor with the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer. She stresses the importance of in-house lawyers being able to talk the same language as their internal clients and to contextualise the advice they give. ‘Understanding the life-saving work we do helps me provide better legal advice,’ she continues. ‘I keep up to date by subscribing to daily updates from Third Sector magazine. I am a member of the In-House Charity Lawyers Group, part of the C&I Group, which provides a forum where we can discuss legal aspects of issues in the sector.’

The charity encourages cross-departmental working and training, she says: ‘While charities’ budgets for formal external training may be lower than those of law firms, working side by side with specialists in the field without the client/firm barrier gives plenty of opportunities for informal learning.’

Lorna Brazell, IP partner with Bird & Bird and an associate member of CIPA, lectures on developments in patents to commercial lawyers who want to learn how legal concepts map onto the technical issues. She did a geophysics degree before taking up law. ‘In patents, it gives you a huge headstart having a scientific background because you can talk to clients and experts,’ she says. ‘Even though you can’t know everything about their area, you can speak the same language.’

She acknowledges that there are those who practise successfully in patent and life sciences without having any scientific background. ‘But what you then have to have is a willingness to learn and not be frightened of the subject,’ she adds.

Brazell is prepared to go back to a ‘baby level’ of understanding when work takes her in a new direction so she can get to the point where she can ask penetrating questions. She says: ‘I attended a course for lawyers and patent attorneys on the basics of biotechnology and genetic engineering coordinated by the University of Edinburgh – I probably couldn’t have got where I am today without it.’

She is now writing a book on nanotechnology ‘because, in the next five to 10 years, that is where the work will be’.

How does she develop that depth of knowledge? ‘I start by reading,’ she says, highlighting New Scientist and Nature. ‘There is a wealth of information out there. Even Wikipedia gives you an idea of relevant publications and experts. I then go to where they are and find out about any courses or talks they are giving. The difficulty for non-technically qualified people is how to filter out the enormous amount of junk that is also out there.’

Michael Edenborough QC, of Serle Court Chambers, also specialises in IP. He did an MA in natural sciences at Cambridge followed by a doctorate in biophysics at Oxford. He says: ‘Even after I started doing law, I kept myself up to speed by producing a university textbook on organic chemistry mechanisms.’

As a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, he receives a monthly magazine on developments in the chemical world and attends lectures put on by its law group. He is also a member of CIPA, the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and the International Association for the Protection of IP. He reads ‘relatively heavy duty’ popular science, including books on quantum physics and the science sections of broadsheets. ‘I went on one truly exceptional five-day residential course on bio-technology, but otherwise offerings are very limited,’ he says. ‘The market for courses in some technical areas is very small. Thousands of barristers and solicitors are involved in medical negligence or personal injury issues, but the number dealing with proper telecoms cases is probably 20.’

Right background

However, Edenborough does not expect the solicitors he works with to be expert in particular scientific fields. ‘What I value in a solicitor is them being a solicitor,’ he says. ‘What I want is for them to find me the right expert and organise everything.’

Mark Harvey, partner with Cardiff-based Hugh James, agrees. He heads three teams covering harmful products, clinical negligence and neurolaw involving head and spinal injuries.

He says: ‘One of our solicitors on the clinical negligence team is a former nurse, which is extremely helpful, both in acting as a signpost to what a clinician should or shouldn’t have done and as an interpreter when we are looking at someone’s medical notes or hearing their story.

‘If you have someone steeped in the language and culture of a particular area, it can save you the time and expense in going up a blind alley with the wrong expert. But it would be foolish to suggest that, in product liability for instance, you could employ people covering all the types of work involved.’ This is where the lawyer’s skill in becoming an expert in a technical area for a short period comes in – ‘then you move on,’ says Harvey. ‘You become sufficiently knowledgeable to pick the right expert, direct them the right way and ensure the court gets the right information, but it is very important that you never substitute yourself for the true expert witness.’

Brazell highlights one case where she had to study the technical issues to be able to interact with the experts. ‘The question was whether it was obvious in patent law to take an inkjet printer and think of using it to synthesise DNA,’ she says. ‘I had an inkjet printer expert and a synthetic organic chemist, but neither on their own could answer that question. I was the bridge between their areas of understanding and the questions the court wanted to ask.’

When it comes to commercial law, in-depth knowledge of non-legal areas is going to be a ‘real leg up’ for those who want to survive, Brazell says. ‘A colleague in our commercial IT department is doing an MBA because the way computing is going, it is changing the business model on which clients need to be advised, and you need to understand how that is happening.’

Increasing specialisation is certainly prompting a move towards masters and PhDs, says Professor Penny Cooper, associate dean of the City Law School. ‘We are not seeing so much demand in the CPD field because there isn’t enough of a market to justify putting on something very specialist. That will be done by specialist groups, which play a very strong role in this area.’

Colin Davey, director of business development at the College of Law, agrees: ‘At the moment, we are not providing any specialist courses dedicated to non-legal type industry knowledge. In our market among the top 100 firms, practices would do it themselves or access courses directly. There would be little point in our just buying it in to resell it.’

However, he adds: ‘From a law firm’s business-development angle, it’s a brilliant opportunity to make use of their clients’ expertise – I think clients would be delighted to be asked to come and talk about current technology issues. ‘How you train your lawyers once they are qualified is very much part of how you define your brand in the market. It shows a real interest in the industries in which clients operate.’

At Cardiff Law School, its CPD programme offers masters-level modules as single units. Rohan Kariyawasam, professor of commercial law, teaches the telecoms law module. Having trained as an engineer, he sees the attraction of having special courses in technology as a precursor to more specialised courses in the relevant law.

However, while it is important to understand how the technology works, he says: ‘It’s also important to appreciate that the technology will change, and change rapidly. So rather than spending too much time in working out the details of the technology, it is better to get a more holistic approach of how the overall system works and the current failings in the law to address that system.’ What advice would he give those looking to develop their knowledge?

‘If you are interested in the subject matter, you could do general courses or read up on the way systems of technology operate in your area,’ he suggests. ‘So in telecoms or e-commerce, for instance, you can explore the way in which data can be transmitted digitally, as well as learn how different digital systems, such as broadcasting networks, telecoms networks, IT networks and satellite networks come together to create one larger system. The same thing would apply in nanotechnology, or in global finance, where you have a series of interconnecting but specialist networks.’

Junior specialists

It is incredibly important for young lawyers to understand the markets in which they operate and that means being proactive in building up specialist knowledge, says Jude Perkins, chair of the Junior Lawyers Division. While the JLD is against specialisation too early in a lawyer’s career, Perkins, a solicitor with specialist City firm Elborne Mitchell, says it is impossible to advise clients properly without understanding the business or field in which they operate.

‘Clients are extremely appreciative of lawyers who don’t need constant explanations of specialist terms or concepts,’ she says. ‘I work in the insurance and reinsurance sector, and I would not be effective in my job if I didn’t know my way around documents specific to that sector, for example policy wordings, or know how such documents came into existence.’

From a business-development perspective, it is important to know where to focus efforts in a particular sector. ‘If I know that insurers are writing a significant amount of catastrophe insurance, I may arrange a specific lecture on cases arising out of catastrophe losses,’ she says.

How do you get that knowledge? ‘You have to be proactive,’ Perkins says. ‘It may be as simple as subscribing to industry publications. Also, join the professional institute or other organisation serving your sector. We are involved in the Insurance Institute of London, the British Insurance Brokers Association and the Association of Run-Off Companies. These institutions produce articles and run seminars which are industry-specific rather than legal-specific. ‘Another potential route is via other professional advisers. If your firm has a good relationship with accountancy firms or other expert advisers, share information with them about the market.’

Students can take niche courses on the LPC, she adds. Some colleges offer an insurance module, which offers an introduction to Lloyd’s of London and insurance terminology and documents. She says it would be difficult for the JLD to provide very specialised non-legal courses because of their broad membership base.

However, it is responding to members’ need for general commercial awareness by providing sessions on how businesses operate, business terminology and client priorities. Its retraining courses, while legal specific, also have a practical focus.

Lifelong learning

Many graduates turning to law are coming into the profession with a non-law degree. It is about 50/50 at the College of Law. Davey says: ‘The law degree is still important, but firms do seem to value a proportion of trainees coming in with a different first degree.’ At magic circle firm Linklaters, about 40% of trainees will have done a non-law degree. Head of learning Wendy Tomlinson says it operates a ‘very open system looking for our top talent’.

People then naturally gravitate to areas that suit their interests, she says: ‘Trainees will have seen when they do their different seats how they can apply their non-legal skills to the work that is going on.’ The firm’s law and business school provides internal training to upskill individuals in their practice area. Overlaying that will be training in the non-legal areas of the firm’s different sectors, such as energy and utilities, banking and healthcare.

The firm also encourage its lawyers to take ownership in developing their skills by being inquisitive about clients and asking questions about technical developments outside the legal sphere. As they get more senior, they will take on responsibility for training more junior colleagues.

However, while developing a specialism is really important, says Tomlinson, changing demands in the market, as highlighted by the credit crunch, require cross-practice flexibility. ‘You need a depth of understanding in your area,’ she says. ‘But you then need to flex that and look at what areas sit alongside your core practice area. For graduates, they will qualify into a particular area, but it won’t necessarily look the same five or 10 years later.’

The key, agrees Brazell, is to keep on learning. ‘I was recruited to do electronics,’ she says. ‘My first big case involved chemical engineering, about which I knew nothing. I then moved on to biotechnology. But I couldn’t now say I am a specialist in any one of those areas – my specialism is patent law.’

But, Brazell concludes: ‘To be an effective and respected practitioner, I need a good deal more scientific and technical knowledge in these areas – and the business that goes round them – than the ordinary citizen. People who feel they have finished their studies and know all they need to know are heading for a rather rapid exit.’

Grania Langdon-Down is a freelance journalist