Learning to be a lawyer in transnational law firms: communities of ...
Learning to be a lawyer in transnational law firms: communities of ...
Learning to be a lawyer in transnational law firms: communities of ...
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<strong>transnational</strong> firm noted, <strong>in</strong> the first <strong>in</strong>stance global and regional tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g events allow <strong><strong>law</strong>yer</strong>s<br />
<strong>to</strong>:<br />
“meet their peers <strong>in</strong> other <strong>of</strong>fices and hear that, ‘I may <strong>be</strong> struggl<strong>in</strong>g with this <strong>in</strong> London,<br />
but actually it’s no different <strong>in</strong> Amsterdam, Frankfurt, um New York’. We don’t<br />
apologies for that, there’ll <strong>be</strong>, there’s someth<strong>in</strong>g very powerful <strong>in</strong> gett<strong>in</strong>g a bunch <strong>of</strong> peers<br />
<strong>to</strong>gether for that time”.<br />
(4, Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong><strong>law</strong>yer</strong>, English firm)<br />
[<strong>in</strong>sert figure 1]<br />
Indeed, such events are viewed as <strong>be</strong><strong>in</strong>g so important by <strong>firms</strong> that they are one <strong>of</strong> the few forms<br />
<strong>of</strong> bus<strong>in</strong>ess travel that has not <strong>be</strong>en scaled back as a result <strong>of</strong> the recession which <strong>be</strong>gan <strong>in</strong> 2008.<br />
Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g programmes ensure that the types <strong>of</strong> social <strong>in</strong>teraction and conversation, or what is<br />
referred <strong>to</strong> as ‘mutual engagement’ <strong>in</strong> the CoP literature, needed <strong>to</strong> form a <strong>transnational</strong><br />
community occur. In turn this mutual engagement as part <strong>of</strong> tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g programmes supports<br />
learn<strong>in</strong>g about the jo<strong>in</strong>t enterprise and shared reper<strong>to</strong>ire <strong>of</strong> the firm.<br />
Because legal regimes are national <strong>in</strong> scope and <strong><strong>law</strong>yer</strong>s <strong>in</strong> each <strong>of</strong>fice must <strong>be</strong> tra<strong>in</strong>ed, have<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> and <strong>be</strong> able <strong>to</strong> negotiate the peculiarities <strong>of</strong> the legal systems <strong>in</strong> the country they<br />
work <strong>in</strong>, CoP are less useful for allow<strong>in</strong>g learn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> relation <strong>to</strong> technical legal knowledges. They<br />
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