Attorney Development
Providing ongoing attorney development is a priority at Haynes Boone. Our Attorney Development group works extensively with the partners, counsel, associates, agents, advisors and professional landmen at the firm across all offices to provide training and development at the various stages of their careers. Even before you walk into our offices for your first day, our Attorney Integration team will have been in touch, to guide you through the onboarding process after offer acceptance.
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 your level of seniority. As one who has already some degree of legal experience, you appropriately have high expectations of your new firm home, and the firm similarly has high expectations of you. Acknowledging that you have already started your practice journey, our goal is to assist you integrating as quickly as possible into your new team and the firm in general. Grateful 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 Boone. We meet with each new lateral lawyer at the beginning of your tenure with the firm on an individual basis 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 smooth and successful integration.
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
Every new first-year and lateral associate is welcomed into our innovative mentorship program HB Beginning Matters. This program centers around three crucial areas for our newest lawyers: communication skills, work opportunities, and fostering intentional mentoring. Together with your Section Chair, Supervisor, Mentor(s), and a representative from Attorney Development, your HB Beginning Matters team ensures you're set up for success from the start. 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 Section Chair, partner supervisor, associate mentor and a member of Attorney Development form your HB Beginning Matters team upon which you will be able to depend upon for guidance and support and who will ensure you are integrated seamlessly into our professional community.
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 up to two reviews each year to guide 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 receive going forward, as well as additional ways to enhance your career, such as speaking and writing opportunities.
Completing your annual career 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 have launched the HBuilding Leaders program in 2022, 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 goal of being a market leader in inclusion and engagement in our communities.
Key components of the HBuilding Leaders curriculum are:
Supporting all of our people to grow with targeted training, 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.
Inclusion & Engagement Committees + HB Inclusion Network
The driving force behind Haynes Boone’s inclusion efforts is the Inclusion Oversight Committee (IOC). It is comprised of members of firm leadership, including the Chair and Firmwide Managing Partner. The IOC has responsibility for implementing the firm’s Inclusion & Engagement strategic goals for 2030. We also have an Inclusion & Engagement Committee comprised of partners, associates, counsel and key members of management and professional staff. The Inclusion & Engagement Committee develops programs and initiatives related to the Inclusion Networks designed to enhance our firm’s inclusive culture.
Co-chairs of the firm’s ten Inclusion Networks serve on the Inclusion & Engagement Committee: 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. 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 Inclusion & Engagement Committee also has chairs for our local offices in London, NYC and Northern VA/Washington, D.C.
DEI Creditable Time
Haynes Boone has implemented a policy of awarding billable-hour credits to attorneys who go above and beyond in advancing the firm’s Inclusion & Engagement (I & E) goals and initiatives. As part of this policy, the firm awards a separate special annual bonus to attorneys who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to Inclusion & Engagement.
Under this policy, associates and counsel can earn up to 50 hours of credit for such Inclusion-related tasks as speaking at or planning Inclusion-related events, mentoring activities and leading Inclusion Networks, among other things. This credit applies 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 Inclusion & Engagement, it believes in a baseline of 24 I & E hours for full-time attorneys. With this in mind, Haynes Boone offers credited I & E hours to attorneys who spend more hours than that baseline level per year.) Regardless of whether attorneys reach their annual billable-hours target, they can now qualify for the special bonus by demonstrating extraordinary Inclusion & Engagement 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.
For more information, please contact the Inclusion & Engagement Department at Haynes Boone.
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.
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.
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.
Wellness Offerings
Wellness Champions network - Our network is comprised of dedicated lawyers and business professionals who actively support the well-being of their peers. Our champions receive specialized training, including Mental Health First Aid certification.
Access to high-quality coaching, therapy, and self-care resources – Our employees and their families have access to high-quality counseling and coaching support through our partnership with Lyra Health.
Resiliency and mindfulness tools – We provide weekly mindfulness and resiliency sessions with live facilitators from Mastermind to teach breathwork, stress management, and relaxation strategies.
Topical programming and training - We partner with experts across a variety of specialties to provide webinars, trainings, podcasts, and other programming to increase awareness and education on many health and wellbeing topics.
Fitness and physical health – We offer fitness discount programs, movement challenges and onsite amenities that support our employees physical activity goals.
Caregiver support – We provide concierge navigation support across the spectrum of caregiving needs through our partnership with Cariloop.
The Legal Landscape Podcast
A firm-produced podcast that navigates the evolving legal landscape by exploring technology and generative AI, media and corporate law along with discussions on wellness and life in Big Law. In our ‘Wellness in Law’ series, guests talk with the Director of Wellbeing and share their practical tips and personal anecdotes on navigating certain wellness-related experiences including caregiving, cancer, mindfulness, burnout, and much more.
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.
Wellness Offerings
Wellness Champions network - Our network is comprised of dedicated lawyers and business professionals who actively support the well-being of their peers. Our champions receive specialized training, including Mental Health First Aid certification.
Access to high-quality coaching, therapy, and self-care resources – Our employees and their families have access to high-quality counseling and coaching support through our partnership with Lyra Health.
Resiliency and mindfulness tools – We provide weekly mindfulness and resiliency sessions with live facilitators from Mastermind to teach breathwork, stress management, and relaxation strategies.
Topical programming and training - We partner with experts across a variety of specialties to provide webinars, trainings, podcasts, and other programming to increase awareness and education on many health and wellbeing topics.
Fitness and physical health – We offer fitness discount programs, movement challenges and onsite amenities that support our employees physical activity goals.
Caregiver support – We provide concierge navigation support across the spectrum of caregiving needs through our partnership with Cariloop.
The Legal Landscape Podcast
A firm-produced podcast that navigates the evolving legal landscape by exploring technology and generative AI, media and corporate law along with discussions on wellness and life in Big Law. In our ‘Wellness in Law’ series, guests talk with the Director of Wellbeing and share their practical tips and personal anecdotes on navigating certain wellness-related experiences including caregiving, cancer, mindfulness, burnout, and much more.