David Lat, at Bloomberg Law, reported recently on a law firm “leadership development” program that both cuts against my recent observations about employer-side professional development (me: little of it remains) and also aligns pretty well with my own brand of “leadership education” (me: not anchored in professional responsibility or legal ethics or imagined models of lawyer-leaders).
“One Big Law Firm Bet on Leadership Training, and It’s Paying Off” is the headline.
From the article:
This concept of “leading from where you are” is one of the pillars of the AFS Fellows Program, a three-year leadership development initiative open to lawyers ranging from midlevel associates to junior partners at ArentFox Schiff. Launched at Arent Fox in 2017 (prior to its 2022 merger with Schiff Hardin), the program celebrated its 10th anniversary this month and announced its 10th class of fellows this week.
The program has been “a resounding success,” according to M. Scott Peeler — a longtime ArentFox Schiff partner and executive committee member who created and leads the initiative.
The AFS Fellows Program’s track record makes it a model that other law firms might want to emulate. To quote two other pillars of the program, “leadership can be taught” and “leadership matters.”



