BAHRacademy

BAHR + University of Cambridge = World-class learning

The legal profession provides lifelong professional learning. As a law graduate, your learning continues on your very first day at a law firm and does not end until the last meeting has been closed on your retirement day. Learning takes place through the daily performance of your duties, in your collaboration with colleagues and, not least, in your interaction with clients. BAHR has pursued professional development systematically since its inception in 1966 – in recent years under the BAHRacademy umbrella, which encompasses all employees of the firm.

BAHRacademy has from late 2019 been lifted to a new international level. BAHR has in close collaboration with the University of Cambridge developed a tailored education programme offering everyone who joins BAHR the opportunity to travel to Cambridge and learn from some of the world’s leading academics, and from BAHR’s own experts in their respective fields. The programme will this year take the form of digital training in virtual classrooms because of the covid-19 situation.

Tailored for maximum learning

Many leading universities offer professional training seminars for lawyers. However, we were looking for a tailormade programme to ensure relevant learning of direct benefit to our clients. The education programme is therefore tailored to BAHR and the issues we address on behalf of our clients, with the aim of strengthening our lawyers’ grounding in finance, strategy, accounting, microeconomics, macroeconomics, project management, team management, etc. These are all key tools for succeeding as a commercial lawyer, and for us as lawyers to best serve the interests of our clients. The University of Cambridge has invested considerable time and resources in familiarising itself with BAHR and our business. The education programme will therefore be taught by University of Cambridge professors with an in-depth understanding of BAHR and BAHR’s business, and who are world-class experts on the subjects addressed in the programme. BAHR contributes its own professional resources to link the knowledge imparted by the University of Cambridge to the operational realities of BAHR. The learning relies on interaction between the University of Cambridge, BAHR and talent participation and involvement in lectures and group seminars.

Robust platform for further learning

The education programme involves two levels: BAHRacademy of Business Law and BAHR Legal Leadership Programme.

• BAHRacademy of Business Law

BAHRacademy of Business Law is tailored to law graduates who are joining BAHR as associates. In addition to an induction term, the programme comprises one corporate finance term, one business strategy & accounting term and one business economics term. The terms are spread over three years, and everyone joining BAHR is invited to participate.

• BAHR Legal Leadership Programme

BAHR Legal Leadership Programme is tailored to BAHR’s senior associates. In addition to an induction term, the programme comprises one term dedicated to project management and one term focusing on team management in our context as commercial lawyers. This aims to enhance the cooperation skills of talents, for the benefit of both internal BAHR team cooperation and external client cooperation. BAHRacademy of Business Law and BAHR Legal Leadership Programme create a platform for further individually tailored professional development after talents become senior associates of the firm. The education programme has a three-pronged objective:

1. Train well-rounded advisors who inspire the full confidence of our clients:
   Expand talents’ knowledge platform on relevant subjects, to enable them to better understand the issues facing our clients, and the context in which such issues arise and will be resolved.
2. Add to the market attractiveness of BAHR lawyers
   We need to acknowledge that not everyone who joins BAHR will become a partner of the firm. Completing a comprehensive and relevant education programme at the University of Cambridge will significantly boost the CVs of talents, and further enhance their standing in relation to new and exciting opportunities outside BAHR.
3. Make a law degree more attractive:
   BAHRacademy and the collaboration with the University of Cambridge shall have positive spin off effects in terms of making a law degree more attractive by highlighting the broad scope of lawyers’ duties and skills, as well as the opportunities for lifelong professional learning offered by a legal career.