The Swiss Army Associate: Making Lawyers as Durable, Ingenious, Agile, Proficient, and, Yes, Profitable As Possible

Karl Elsener established the company, now known as Victorinox AG, in 1884 in Ibach, Switzerland. Elsener crafted high-quality, functional cutlery. In 1891, he started producing knives for the Swiss Army and introduced the iconic Swiss Army knife in 1897. This multifunctional knife combined a blade, screwdriver, can opener, and knife into a compact design. Over time, Victorinox incorporated additional tools such as scissors, corkscrews, magnifying glasses, and pliers. The knife's durability and convenience led to its widespread use beyond the military, becoming a symbol of resourcefulness in popular culture.

Similarly, law firm associates must evolve. Greater versatility translates to increased utility, marketability, and profitability.

Today’s Law Firm Environment

Law firms today face significant challenges as they navigate an increasingly complex and demanding environment.

Economic pressures and heightened scrutiny of profitability have forced firms to reevaluate traditional billing models and operational efficiencies. With tighter budgets on both the firm and client sides, there is a growing need to demonstrate tangible value in every engagement, making it imperative for firms to rethink how they operate and serve their clients.

Additionally, the dynamic regulatory and compliance landscape further complicates the picture. As new regulations and cross-border legal complexities emerge, firms can no longer afford to rely on any one area of law to be omnipresent and omniprofitable. They must develop a broad, multidisciplinary approach to meet client needs, who are also dealing with multiple legal challenges across various jurisdictions.

Compounding these challenges is the technology-driven transformation sweeping through the legal industry. AI, analytics, and automation are enhancing operational efficiency and reshaping how firms deliver legal services. Clients, particularly in-house General Counsel, are increasingly relying on their law firms for versatile, value-driven support that goes beyond specialized legal advice. As General Counsel face mounting pressures to manage complex legal issues, control costs, and ensure compliance across multiple jurisdictions, law firms must adapt to provide comprehensive, agile, and technologically advanced solutions to maintain a competitive edge.

Building the Versatile Associate

Your associates are like the blade of a Swiss Army knife—sharp, reliable, and poised to be leaders in their practice areas. Their practice—like you once were—is their raison d'être, and collectively, they become the firm's raison d'être. Their razor-sharp legal analysis, like the blade of the Swiss Army knife, is why you hired them and why you continue to invest in them. 

But today’s clients demand more than a single-function tool. They need a team equipped with versatile, multifaceted capabilities to tackle complex challenges. And even if there are no more challenges, no more turbulence in the legal ecosystem, and the status quo remains for the rest of the firm’s natural life, knowing that you can pivot if you need to will bring some valuable peace of mind. 

Substantive Flexibility

Equip your associates with:

• The Magnifying Glass. Equip your associates with industry-leading technological proficiency. With technology reshaping the legal landscape, associates who can adapt to, scrutinize, and master the latest tech tools ensures your firm stays ahead of the curve in efficiency and innovation.
• The Mini-Screwdriver. You must train associates to adapt so they can fit and perform anywhere. That might mean expanding their knowledge in varied types of transactions or transitioning between different kinds of litigation. 
• The Phillips Screwdriver. Fostering increased collaboration across practice groups enables associates to engage more deeply with different practice areas, facilitating integrated solutions that address clients’ broader needs.
• The Pliers. Learning across disciplines helps associates develop critical thinking skills and enables them to tackle complex legal issues with a well-reasoned approach, ensuring that they can get a firm grip on even the most intricate cases. Imagine how much more effective contract drafting would be if litigators reviewed contracts. 

Professional Development 

It’s never too early to start training your associates in the business of law. 

• The Corkscrew.  Train associates to deepen their understanding of clients, industries, and broader legal and business issues. This knowledge allows them to better serve client needs, uncork hidden opportunities across the firm, and ultimately drive its growth.
• The Scissors. Teach your associates to cut through the noise to navigate client needs and deliver precise - and tailored - legal solutions that strengthen client satisfaction and loyalty.
• The Saw. Guiding associates to work within a leveraged model empowers them to manage tasks efficiently, allowing senior lawyers to focus on more complex, high-value work.
• The Knife Sharpener. Continuous training and process improvement sharpen your associates’ ability to work more efficiently, reducing turnaround times and increasing overall productivity in client engagements.
• The Mini Ball Point Pen. Encourage associates to take business writing and professionalism courses to refine their communication skills. This will help them present themselves more elegantly in front of clients and elevate their professional image.

By equipping your associates with these additional tools, your firm can transform into a versatile Swiss Army knife - ready to meet any client demand with precision, agility, and unparalleled skill and dexterity.

Examples of Cross-Training Initiatives at Law Firms Today….

At AltaClaro, we specialize in helping firms identify viable avenues for cross-disciplinary training and provide your associates with the necessary skills to adapt seamlessly. Over the last year, we have worked with several firms to deploy more cross-training initiatives. Below are some examples. 

Substantive Training Initiatives

M&A Cross-Training for Healthcare Associates

We recently worked with a leading AmLaw 100 firm to expand its national healthcare practice strategically. The firm recognized its need for a more versatile workforce and collaborated with AltaClaro to enhance its existing healthcare regulatory attorneys’ skills, particularly in corporate and M&A transactions. The training served the dual purpose of allowing the firm to leverage its existing talent to meet the complex needs of healthcare clients while bolstering its reputation and contributing to its brand growth in the healthcare sector. 

Building Versatile Transactional Associates

We recently worked with a few Am Law 200 firms that wanted to shift away from their old framework of having their first and second-year transactional associates specialized at the gate (e.g., in corporate, lending, securities, M&A, startup/venture, or IP/tech transactions) due to fluctuations in the economy. Working closely with these firms, we created a training curriculum for their first and second year associates to go through a series of practice area overview and deal process courses in year one, and then core drafting courses in year two for each of relevant transactional-based specialty areas.

Fostering Litigation Acumen 

Another example includes a leading firm’s litigation group. It invited AltaClaro to lead its litigation associates through a contract drafting and negotiation course so they understood key contract drafting provisions before they even started litigating them. They also took overview courses in M&A, lending, real estate, and tech trans to understand the pertinent documents, potential issues, avoidable issues, terms, terminologies, players, and structures in the specialty areas they may be exposed to litigating. 

Riding Real Estate Waves 

Our experience with a law firm’s real estate practice group highlights how we prepared them for weathering the economic trends, such as fluctuating interest rates and market instability, that significantly impact workflow. During downturns, the demand for real estate transactions declined, leaving some associates underutilized. To address this, they enrolled associates in the real estate practice group to take courses in corporate and M&A transactions. This allowed them to pivot and contribute to other practice areas during reduced real estate activity periods.

Professional Development Training Initiatives

AI Isn’t Going Anywhere

We have collaborated with more than a dozen firms for associate training in generative AI. Our recent collaboration with a Top 50 firm spotlights how we consistently train associates to become more versatile in their legal practice. This training not only enhances an associate's technical proficiency but it also significantly improves their ability to conduct legal research, draft documents, and analyze complex data more efficiently. Our experiential learning approach ensures that these associates are adaptable to the rapidly changing demands of the legal industry, ultimately leading to increased productivity, better client service, and a competitive edge in the market. 

Knowing Your Client

Another firm enrolled all of its associates in AltaClaro’s technology transactions courses. The firm’s client base is overwhelmingly (90%) technology companies or companies heavily reliant on technology agreements. The courses covered the basics of SaaS/Cloud agreements, software and hardware development, apps, and the associated risks in each area. This training ensured that all associates, regardless of their practice area, gained a foundational understanding of these crucial aspects of their clients' businesses.

Although the firm has a specialized IP/Tech practice group, the training helped other associates understand technology-related agreements better, spot issues, and refer them to specialized teams, enhancing service to tech-focused clients.

While AI Isn’t Going Anywhere…Writing Will Always Be Important

At another firm, all associates took an AltaClaro writing course designed to transition them from the law school writing style to a more business-oriented approach. The course introduces clear, concise, and organized communication, moving away from the lengthy, overly detailed memos typical of academic settings. Instead, associates were trained to craft precise and straightforward emails, memos, and other client communications that are more effective in a fast-paced legal environment. This initiative reflects the firm’s commitment to ensuring that all lawyers, regardless of their practice area, are equipped to meet the expectations of today’s clients, who demand clarity and efficiency.

How to do this … 

Cross-training associates is essential. How you approach and deliver this cross-training is equally important. The most effective method is experiential learning, which mirrors real-world conditions. Training associates should involve application and pressure as steel is forged through high-temperature processes. Traditionally, this was achieved through apprenticeship, but today’s clients aren’t willing to pay for associate training on their dime. Instead, firms should use simulation-based training with data-driven feedback, providing associates with “fake” clients and assignments similar to what they’ll encounter in practice. This approach allows them to work through complex scenarios and receive critical feedback, honing their skills without risking client relationships.

Final Thoughts

Members of Switzerland’s military no longer need screwdrivers to assemble their Schmidt-Rubin rifles. But the Swiss Army knife remains functional, durable, relevant, and, yes, profitable. Victorinox reported annual revenue of $750 million in June 2024.