Today's Associates Are Tomorrow's Top Litigators. Here's How to Prepare Them.

Litigation attorney Adolfo Jimenez was interviewed by the Daily Business Review about ensuring associates get the trial experience they need to be successful litigators. The use of alternative dispute resolution, combined with the effects of the pandemic, means there are fewer and fewer opportunities for new attorneys to get into the courtroom and increase their trial readiness. Mr. Jimenez, who leads Holland & Knight's South Florida Litigation Practice Group, said he sees a "hunger for experience" from new associates. He also commented on the ways the firm helps young lawyers develop skills in this area, from the John Hogan Academy, an annual intensive training program, to monthly informal lunch-and-learn sessions.

"We have a lot of different lawyers with different experience levels and different backgrounds. Having that diversity of perspective is very valuable," he explained. "You get attorneys who've handled product liability cases or attorneys who handle class actions as their specialty, they might do things differently and that's OK. I think it's good for young attorneys to get that exposure to them and not just get pigeonholed or put into a box where you feel like you have to do it this way or it doesn't work."

READ: Today's Associates Are Tomorrow's Top Litigators. Here's How to Prepare Them. (Subscription required)