Developing talent now and for the future - Darren Patterson

Darren Patterson,

Head of Professional Development

While the legal profession has undergone significant change in recent years, the next decade will also see profound reforms across the profession. Firms will need to transform how they attract, develop, retain and change talent in order to succeed. The Law Society of Northern Ireland remains committed to supporting Members in preparing to meet these key challenges. This is reflected by the recent appointment of a new Head of Professional Development. Darren Patterson took up post in October and is responsible for transforming the Society’s professional development offering to Members, from their entry as trainee solicitors, throughout their ongoing learning journey during their professional careers. Darren brings a wealth of experience to the role having previously worked across multiple sectors in the areas of people development and change management.

Developing Talent Now and for the Future

Prior to joining the Society, Darren spent over three years as Associate Director within Grant Thornton Ireland where he helped to establish the firm’s People and Change consulting practice in Belfast, Dublin and Waterford. His work spanned large-scale transformation programmes and standalone People & Change projects within Government & public sector, financial services and banking, transport and infrastructure, energy and education. Darren has also worked for global consulting firms PwC and EY where he led on a broad range of services to clients across UK and Ireland. In addition to his consulting background, Darren spent ten years with two of Northern Ireland’s largest companies, Translink and Northern Ireland Water, in a variety of leadership roles. During his time in industry he delivered strategically significant cultural transformation and behavioural change programmes aimed at addressing complex organisational and sectoral challenges, such as:

• Attracting and retaining talent in a competitive labour market and managing succession in key leadership roles, whilst still delivering high quality services;

• Managing increasing demand for services;

• Driving organisational performance, in particular in the face of rising expectations of customers and stakeholders;

• Delivering effective and efficient organisational funding, and demonstrating value for money, in the face of increased scrutiny;

• Realising the opportunities presented by new technologies and the need to be responsive and agile.

The Society is presently developing an ambitious strategy centred on providing real value to Members. This is supported by its new operating structure of which Professional Development is a critical component. The work of the Society’s Professional Development team has traditionally focused on the training and admission of solicitors and for their ongoing learning. Going forward, the team will provide a strong focus on the experience of Trainee and Newly Qualified Solicitors and enhancing the Society’s Continued Professional Development (CPD) offering.

A review of the Solicitor Trainee programme is planned for early 2022 that will engage both Trainees and Masters with the objective of enhancing the overall experience for both groups and generating an ongoing future pipeline of diverse talent for the profession.

While there is a key focus on engagement with all Members across the profession, specifically the Professional Development team will be seeking to further engage with Newly Qualified Solicitors to help support how they learn, develop and connect at the outset of their professional careers.

More broadly, the Society will develop a combination of approaches, resources and techniques that will help all Members manage their own learning and growth. The future focus of the Society’s CPD proposition will centre on results – the benefits that professional development can bring to solicitors in the real world.

The Society understands CPD is an investment that Members make in themselves but often its benefits are overlooked during the busy dayto-day operations of being a solicitor. It’s an important message the Society’s Professional Development team will be communicating and reinforcing.

As Darren explains “ CPD adds real value as a way of planning your development that links learning directly to practice. It can help you keep your skills and knowledge up-to-date and prepare you for greater responsibilities. It can boost your confidence, strengthen your professional credibility and help you become more creative in tackling new challenges. Perhaps the most important message is that one size doesn’t fit all. Wherever you are in your career now and whatever you want to achieve, your CPD should be exactly that: yours. I am delighted to take up my new role as Head of Professional Development with The Law Society of Northern Ireland. I look forward to working with colleagues and Members on the admission of newly qualified solicitors to the profession and their continuing professional development throughout their careers.”