Lawyer’s Professional Development Plan

Guidelines, Baseline, Goal Categories, and Action^©

A professional development plan is a relatively simple document that records a lawyer’s goals, how the goals will be attained (including the activities, resources, and support needed and how they will be obtained), and a timetable. Firms that ask lawyers to prepare professional development plans can make the process easier by providing guidelines, instructions, a means for obtaining baseline development data, and explanations of any categories in which goals should be set. Page 3 shows a simple template for a professional development plan.