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• Alumni are offered CLE programs through Skadden that assist them in maintaining their legal skills as well as empowering them to advance throughout their careers.
• Diversity and Inclusion is a core value of the firm, which we support with training at all experience levels. Workshops and lecture topics include associate retention and pipeline development, working effectively in a diverse environment and serving as allies to colleagues in a diverse workforce.    

The firm recognizes that legal skills can be further developed through involvement of non-billable matters that support both Skadden and the communities we serve. For that reason, the following efforts also count towards the firm's hours requirement:

• Pro bono work
• Junior associates may charge up to 100 hours for "shadowing" senior attorneys
• Up to 100 non-billable productive hours credit   

Associates receive formal in-person reviews once a year. First-year and lateral associates are reviewed twice during their first year at Skadden. In preparation for these reviews, each associate submits a personal career development plan that is designed to identify and support individual growth and to encourage open discussion of career goals and objectives. In addition to the formal review process, our “open door” policy provides opportunities for feedback through the work cycle, and attorneys are encouraged to solicit feedback at the end of an assignment, case or transaction. Also, associates are asked to provide upward feedback on supervising attorneys. This feedback is another tool to assist us in developing our attorneys.

Fostering communication with firm leaders about what’s working, and what’s not, is critical to our continuing to lead the industry in timely and relevant practices and programs. While informal communication is encouraged in our environment, associates have the opportunity to ask questions and share their views through our Associates Committee, Attorney Development Partners, and town halls with office and practice leaders. In addition, we are one of the few firms that has enlisted the use of engagement surveys to help us develop and assess offerings and programs.

• Sidebar, a program that allows attorneys to leave the firm for up to three years
• Technology reimbursement
• Fitness center and/or discounted gym memberships (details vary among offices)