Nestled among the initial offerings by the Law Society of Scotland’s web-based training are modules on stress management and “diffusing conflict through communication.” The piece (Legal Week, July 13, 2006 at 25) that mentions these offerings amidst modules mostly on substantive legal areas made no further comment. But I will.
Of all management skills needed by in-house counsel, are stress and conflict management the most important? Would the lawyers who toil in law departments pick courses on those topics over courses on accounting, strategic planning, delegation, time management, or procurement techniques, just to pick several that strike me as more integral to success? Clients must be making life tough for counselors.