As 2021 wraps up and the world (and legal industry) begins inching towards “normal,” business might be busier than ever, regardless of where you’re logging on. This is true not only for attorneys, but also for the professionals providing training and support to allow lawyers to excel in their practices.
For over 80 years, Practising Law Institute (PLI) has provided industry-standard CLE programs for attorneys. Along the way, the nonprofit organization has also developed ways to support other essential professionals in the industry. And in March 2021, PLI launched the Paralegal Center – now one of its most-requested sites. The PLI Paralegal Center is a hub for thousands of hours of accredited training content offering Paralegal CLE credit, featuring specialized streaming programs focused on different facets of paralegal work within distinct practice areas to respond to firms’ training needs.
PLI also enjoys close ties with the Professional Development community, which shares the organization’s goal of helping attorneys build and enhance their skills and expertise. PLI often turns to its PD connections to learn what types of training will benefit attorneys. Recognizing the significance of this relationship, in 2020 PLI launched PD Appreciation Month, and presented a series of free webcasts on timely topics. This past month’s series, Empowering Professional Development, explored the intersection of diversity, equity and inclusion and PD. Though aimed at those in PD, many of the discussions are relevant to a broader audience, addressing topics such as integrating DEI into business, career paths for diverse attorneys, and returning to the office, as well as a special edition webcast focused on mid-level curriculum building. All these webcasts are available on-demand at no cost in PLI’s PD Center.
Introduced in 2019, the PD Center serves as a central location for a variety of relevant content. The PD Insider interview series highlights leading voices in legal professional development. The PD Center’s interview library now contains more than 20 in-depth conversations, available in both video and podcast formats. The newest episode, featuring the chairs of the Empowering Professional Development series, is available now in the PD Center, and all episodes are free of charge.
The PLI Press publishing arm also supports professionals with treatises, course handbooks, and more. One popular recent title is Stepping It Up: A Guide for Mid-Level Law Firm Associates, an expert essay collection edited by Jennifer L. Bluestein, and the follow-up to the bestselling An Associate’s First Year: A Guide to Thriving at a Law Firm. Both are available from PLI Press and the online research platform PLI PLUS. PLI PLUS also hosts the new PLI Chronicle, featuring a monthly column highlighting key coaching topics such as leadership, collaboration, and emotional intelligence.
PLI also supports PD professionals by keeping them up to date on the ever-shifting compliance requirements in MCLE states, and offers a Credit Tracker to streamline the process of calculating credits earned from both PLI and other providers.
As the industry continues to recalibrate in unprecedented times, PLI remains committed to providing topical programs, dedicated accreditation support, and timely updates to make compliance easy. Learn more at pli.edu.
