Law Department Management Blog
You have to wonder about the cost-benefit ratio of CLE programs for in-house lawyers. Research has shown that information and knowledge gained from formal training programs is often not effectively applied. According to Cal. Mgt Rev., Vol. 49, Winter 2007 at 44, “Some researchers have estimated that from the approximately one hundred billion dollars spent annually on all forms of corporate training (from technical training to leadership and executive development), only about 10% is actually applied on the job.”
This makes me wonder how many in-housers would attend CLE courses if if were not for mandatory bar requirements (See my post of Jan. 20, 2006 about CLE not being useful because the in-house attendees are too sophisticated; and June 20, 2007 on the specialization of in-house lawyers.). To be sure, nothing much is known about training taken by in-house lawyers on topics other than substantive legal learning (See my posts of April 12, 2006 on substantive vs. management training; and Sept. 21, 2005 on writing as an example.).