Attorney Development
Providing ongoing attorney development is a priority at Haynes Boone. Our Attorney Development group works extensively with the partners and associates at the firm across all offices to provide the training and development that our lawyers need at the various stages of their careers. We do not limit our attorney development efforts to the associates of the firm. We have designed programs especially for partners that take into account the set of skills that partners need at their sophisticated levels of practice.
Milestone Development Programs
As you move through your career, you will participate in a variety of programs that will equip you for the new challenges that you will be facing as your practice develops. At regular intervals, you will come together with class level cohorts to ensure just-in-time training is provided on such topics as inclusive leadership, managing and motivating teams, client relations and opportunities for cross-office networking. Our counsel and partnership readiness programs are focused on practice building and business development with the guidance of departmental leadership, so that when you are invited to our New Partner Toolkit, you will be set up for success as an entry-level partner.
Lateral Attorneys
We recognize the need for an increased focus on lawyer development for our lateral lawyers, regardless of what level of seniority you may have attained when you join the firm. As one who has already some degree of legal experience, you appropriately have high expectations of the new firm that you are joining, and the firm similarly has high expectations of you. We know that you will already have developed a practice area and, just like we do for entry-level lawyers, our goal is to assist you to integrate as quickly as possible into your practice area and the firm in general. Recognizing that each lateral lawyer brings unique experiences and interests, we endeavor to help you reap the benefits of your experiences and your existing client and other relationships as fully as possible at Haynes and Boone. Partnering with the Manager of Attorney Integration, we meet with each new lateral lawyer at the beginning of your tenure with the firm to outline how we can be of assistance to you; we also follow up with lateral lawyers at periodic intervals after your arrival at the firm to ensure that your integration is going well.
Section and Practice Group Training
In addition to the firm-wide milestone development programs and on-the job training through work assignments, a very important part of your development is the section and practice group training that relates to the substantive areas in which you are engaged. These programs include sessions that focus on skill development, e.g., an expert deposition workshop for litigation lawyers or a contract drafting session for transactional lawyers, or programs that discuss a current development related to your practice.
Supervisors, Mentors and Feedback
When you arrive at the firm, you will be assigned a partner in your practice group who will oversee your development as a lawyer at the firm. In addition to being involved with you in your work assignments, your partner supervisor will assist you in your integration into the firm as well as the broader legal community.
Your mentor has the primary focus of acclimating you to your practice and to the firm and of answering whatever questions you may have. Together, your partner supervisor and associate mentor form a key team upon which you will be able to depend for guidance and support.
Informal, ongoing feedback that you receive from the lawyers with whom you are working is critical to a lawyer's growth and development. Not only do we provide training for senior lawyers on how to give effective feedback, but we also provide training for our junior associates on how to seek out feedback and apply it to their practice.
Attorney Evaluation Process and Associate Development Plans
In addition to the informal feedback that you receive on an ongoing basis, you will receive two reviews each year that are key guides to your development at the firm. The lawyers with whom you have worked will provide comments on the work that you have done, as well as suggest developmentally-appropriate goals. These comments are compiled and shared directly with you, at an in-person meeting that your supervising partner attends, along with an Attorney Development team member. These conversations focus on “going forward” guidance. In other words, what should be happening over the next six to 12 months to enable you to keep moving forward in your career? In furtherance of this goal, the review will focus on the nature of the work assignments that you may be getting going forward as well as other things that you can be doing to enhance your career such as speaking and writing opportunities.
The completion of your annual associate development plan provides you with an opportunity to identify substantive areas in which you would like to be involved, where you would like to strengthen your skillset, and other opportunities in which you would like to be engaged during the coming year. Working in conjunction with your partner supervisor and associate mentor, you can create an individual plan that provides a great road map for your career for the months and years ahead.
HBuilding Leaders – Leadership Development Program
At Haynes Boone, the strands of character, integrity and teamwork are what bring us together and what set us apart in the legal community. These traits have also contributed to our strong and sustainable firm culture for more than 50 years.
As Haynes Boone advances toward our strategic goals in an ever-changing world, it is increasingly important to articulate how leadership has always underpinned our firm culture, and how it will continue to evolve.
We are proud to launch the HBuilding Leaders program, which focuses on people leadership (inclusion, self-awareness and team dynamics), practice leadership (leading the firm, innovating with practices and understanding our clients’ businesses) and community leadership (in the various ways that are important to our constituencies and displaying strong character) to help meet the firm’s strategic goals.
Building on our foundations of continuous leadership, the HBuilding Leaders curriculum is the scaffolding supporting the goals of winning the battle for the most talented lawyers and professional staff; being a market leader in diversity, equity and inclusion; and engaging deeply in our communities.
Key components of the HBuilding Leaders curriculum, developed in partnership with the Santa Clara University School of Law Institute for Lawyer Leadership Education, are:
- The 5 principles of exemplary leadership from The Leadership Challenge;
- Supporting all of our people to grow with planning tools and accountability strategies;
- Individual preference assessments to support self-awareness, empathy and managing others;
- Highlighting our existing culture of leadership and spotlighting alumni, clients, community partners and internal leaders.
HBuilding Leaders takes a comprehensive approach, offering multimodal training at all levels – from brand new associates to the top echelons of firm management. The first phase of the program, launched in October 2022, includes live, interactive training blocks at each of our four milestone development programs at crucial career inflection points, as well as firmwide virtual seminars and asynchronous touchpoints by cohort. Further phases are coming soon.
Attorney Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committees + HB Inclusion Networks
The driving force behind Haynes Boone’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts is the Attorney Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (ADEIC) composed of partners, associates, counsel and key members of management and professional staff. The ADEIC sets goals for its policies and programs related to the recruitment, retention, promotion and professional development of the firm’s lawyers – and the next generation of lawyers we hope to recruit to the profession. The ADEIC enacts diversity and equity-related firm policies and programs, as well as the implementation of innovative initiatives designed to enhance our firm’s inclusive culture.
Co-chairs of the firm’s ten Inclusion Networks are on the ADEIC: The Asian/Pacific Islander Network, The Black/ African American Network, The Latin/Hispanic Network, The LGBTQ+ Network, The Women’s Initiative Network, The Working Parents and Caregivers Network, The Veterans Network, The Pipeline Initiatives Network, The First Generation (First Gen) Network, and The Next Generation (Next Gen) Network. Additionally, the ADEIC is supported by professional staff and other attorneys.
Each Inclusion Network is led by two attorney co-chairs, comprised of members across all offices, of all levels, and has an executive level sponsor. The firm’s Inclusion Networks meet to collaborate on implementing progressive policies to ensure that its diverse talent is well-equipped to lead the firm and provide the best legal support to our clients.
For more information about the ADEIC and Inclusion Networks, please contact the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department at DiversityDepartment@haynesboone.com.
DEI Creditable Time
Haynes Boone has implemented a new policy of awarding billable-hour credits to attorneys who go above and beyond in advancing the firm’s DE&I goals and initiatives. Additionally, starting in 2023, the firm will award a separate special annual bonus to attorneys who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to DE&I.
Under the new policy, associates and counsel can earn up to 50 hours of credit for performing such DEI tasks as speaking at or planning DEI-related events, mentoring activities and interviewing diverse candidates. This credit will apply towards the annual billable threshold (typically 2,000 hours for a full-time attorney) that is used in setting attorneys’ annual compensation and performance bonus.
While the firm doesn’t require lawyers to spend a specific amount of time on any non-billable work, including DE&I, it believes in a baseline of 24 DE&I hours for full-time attorneys. With this in mind, Haynes Boone is offering credited DE&I hours to attorneys who spend more hours than that baseline level per year on creditable DE&I work.
Regardless of whether attorneys reach their annual billable-hours target, they can now qualify for the special bonus by demonstrating extraordinary DEI efforts.
This initiative reinforces the firm’s commitment to finding innovative ways to recognize and incentivize the work that supports an inclusive and diverse culture and that empowers the unique voices and career advancement of each attorney.
HB Well – Caring for Our People
HB Well is Haynes Boone's organizational well-being initiative that offers resources, programs, trainings, and confidential support to all employees at the firm.
Our Mission: HB Well is an inclusive, whole-person approach to well-being for each member of the global Haynes Boone team. Our goal is to lead with empathy, encourage self-care, and meet the unique well-being needs of our people through compassionate support, accessible resources, and evidence-based education.
Our Vision: Together we are stronger, more resilient, and empowered to thrive personally and professionally.
Some of the resources available through HB Well are: weekly virtual mindfulness sessions, generous mental health benefits, Wellness Champions peer support network, and firmwide presentations, trainings, activities and challenges.
We have 6 values that direct our wellness programming goals, which are:
- Together - Provide opportunities for peer-to-peer connection through various avenues including our Wellness Champions network.
- Encourage - Provide resources that encourage healthy habits and preventive care.
- Educate - Reduce the stigma related to mental health and substance use challenges by raising awareness and providing education on these issues.
- Connect - Collaborate on health and well-being initiatives with our clients, the legal industry and within our communities.
- Support - Provide a safe and confidential space for our people to seek support.
- Lead - Set the standard for a culture of well-being within big law through empathetic leadership, innovation, and best-in-class programming.
HB Well Champions – Together We are Stronger
About the HB Well Champions Network
At Haynes Boone, our HB Well Champions network is comprised of lawyers and business professionals who volunteer their time to actively support the well-being of their peers. We have 50 Champions spread across each of our office locations who help us provide a confidential and accessible avenue for our people to seek resources, information, and compassionate support when needed.
The Champion's Role
A Wellness Champion serves as a trained peer support resource. This person is someone who can connect and provide confidential, one-on-one support with a colleague about a wellness-related topic or concern. Our Champions are not counselors or clinicians, rather they are compassionate listeners, communicators and connectors who possess a working knowledge of available resources. We also look to our Champions to lead by example in encouraging making well-being a priority individually and organizationally.
Training
Our Champions are required to participate in a 1.5 hour training that covers warnings signs of mental health or well-being related challenges in the workplace, peer support strategies, and a deep dive into firm and community resources. We also offer various voluntary trainings to all our Champions, including certification in Mental Health First Aid.