The way lawyers practice is changing—and so must the way they learn. In a recent webinar co-hosted by BARBRI and Keep Company, legal learning leaders explored the pressures reshaping attorney development and what firms must do to prepare lawyers for a faster, more complex profession. Speakers including Alisa Gray of BARBRI, Caroline Cochenour of Goodwin, Anna Bankey of Pillsbury, and Adrienne Prentice of Keep Company discussed the evolving expectations placed on lawyers, the limitations of traditional training models, and why the future of legal education requires intentional program design that blends modalities, emphasizes real-world application, and supports development across every stage of a lawyer’s career.
At the center of the discussion was a simple but profound shift: the traditional apprenticeship model—long the backbone of legal training—is no longer sufficient on its own.
“Something fundamental has changed in how lawyers practice,” said Adrienne Prentice, co-founder and CEO of Keep Company. “AI is accelerating technical workflows, timelines to full utilization are shorter, the apprenticeship model is not the norm anymore… So the question becomes: if the way lawyers practice has changed, how must the way lawyers learn evolve alongside it?”
The Pressure on Law Firms to Accelerate Learning
Across the profession, law firms are under increasing pressure to bring lawyers to productivity faster. Clients expect immediate value. Partners expect junior lawyers to demonstrate judgment earlier. And technology—particularly generative AI—is compressing timelines across legal work.
For attorney development leaders, this creates a difficult balancing act: how to ensure that lawyers build foundational skills while also meeting the demands of modern practice.
Anna Bankey, Director of Talent Development at Pillsbury, described a familiar tension inside firms. Partners often assume that new lawyers already understand professional expectations.
“There’s a pressure around professionalism skills and judgment,” Bankey said. “Partners sometimes ask, ‘Don’t they know what good work is?’ And the reality is that we need to be much more explicit.”
Developing that understanding—what good work looks like, how to communicate with clients, how to manage matters—is rarely something that can be absorbed through a single lecture or training session. Instead, it emerges through layered learning experiences and repeated application.
Why One Learning Format Isn’t Enough
One of the clearest themes from the discussion was that no single training format can effectively develop lawyers on its own.
Formal instruction builds foundational knowledge. On-demand content increases accessibility. Simulations and role-play allow lawyers to practice skills. Coaching provides reflection and guidance. Each modality plays a role—but only when used together.
“Formal training builds knowledge, on-demand content increases access, simulations and role play build application, and coaching builds clarity and confidence,” Prentice explained. “The opportunity isn’t to choose one modality—it’s to supercharge them together.”
For firms, this means designing training intentionally around learning outcomes rather than defaulting to traditional approaches.
Programs that combine lectures, exercises, feedback, and coaching can create the repetition and reinforcement needed for real learning—something particularly important as expectations around lawyer performance continue to rise.
The Role of Friction in Real Learning
Another critical insight discussed during the webinar was the misconception that learning should feel easy.
In fact, effective learning often requires effort and repetition—what learning scientists sometimes call productive friction.
Alisa Gray, Director of Learning at BARBRI, noted that in an era of AI tools capable of generating polished outputs instantly, the distinction between fluency and true understanding is becoming more important.
“Learning takes a lot of friction,” Gray said. “It’s hard. And that’s not an obstacle—that’s actually the mechanism through which we learn.”
The risk, she explained, is that lawyers may appear competent when AI tools produce polished drafts or research summaries. But without the underlying understanding, those outputs may lack depth.
This dynamic reinforces the importance of structured training programs that encourage reflection and application.
Gray emphasized the importance of what learning designers often call transfer moments—opportunities for learners to pause and ask how new knowledge applies to their work.
“You have to prompt learners to think: What did you just learn? And how will you apply it to your job?”
Designing Programs That Work for Every Lawyer
Another theme explored during the discussion was accessibility in learning design.
Research suggests that approximately 10–20% of attorneys are neurodivergent, meaning that training programs must accommodate a wide range of learning styles.
The solution, panelists suggested, is not to tailor programs for individual learners—but to build flexibility into the design from the start.
Providing multiple modalities—live sessions, recordings, exercises, written materials, and feedback loops—ensures that learners can engage in ways that work best for them.
As Gray noted, features originally designed to support neurodivergent learners often improve learning outcomes for everyone.
“Even if you’re neurotypical,” she said, “these techniques are still incredibly helpful learning tools.”
Accessible design ultimately improves engagement, retention, and long-term professional development across the firm.
Why Mid-Level Lawyers Deserve More Attention
While many firms focus training resources on new associates and senior lawyers approaching partnership, panelists highlighted a critical gap: mid-level associates.
These lawyers often carry significant responsibility inside firms. They supervise junior associates while managing expectations from partners and clients. Yet formal development programs sometimes overlook them.
Bankey explained that this stage represents both a challenge and an opportunity for firms.
“Mid-level associates are vital,” she said. “They’re managing down to junior associates and managing up to partners. Their experience shapes the experience of the entire team.”
Recognizing this, some firms are introducing leadership development, project management training, and partnership preparation earlier in lawyers’ careers.
The goal is to ensure that lawyers build the skills needed for long-term success before they reach senior roles.
A More Intentional Future for Legal Learning
Taken together, the insights from the webinar point toward a clear conclusion: the future of legal training will be more structured, more intentional, and more integrated into the daily practice of law.
Rather than relying solely on the apprenticeship model, firms are beginning to design development ecosystems that combine formal training, practice simulations, mentorship, coaching, and feedback.
For legal education providers like BARBRI, this shift represents an opportunity to support firms that may not have the resources to build such programs internally.
As Gray explained, firms increasingly want structured learning programs informed by research and aligned with the competencies modern lawyers must demonstrate.
“Just presenting information doesn’t create learning,” she said. “What matters is how that learning is structured and applied.”
In a profession defined by expertise, the ability to develop lawyers effectively may become one of the most important competitive advantages a firm can have.
Explore how BARBRI helps firms build structured learning programs that prepare lawyers for modern practice.
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