Stinson has a unique program for its entry-level Associates interested in litigation. Associates in their first three years of practice belong to the Litigation Associates Group. Associates in this group work with attorneys in all litigation divisions, which improves the Associates' experiences, provides for efficient work flow and helps the Associates and the firm make well-informed decisions regarding the Associates’ ultimate assignment to a practice area. After three years in practice, litigation associates then rotate into a more specialized litigation practice division.

An Associate's long-term success hinges on having a roadmap of the specific skills that need to be developed at each stage and ensuring that those skills are timely and comprehensively developed. Stinson's Work Allocation Monitoring System (WAMS) is a program to ensure that all Associates have a clear roadmap and equitable access to career enhancing work experiences and business development opportunities. We provide each Associate a Core Competencies Checklist that is used as a tool to further develop skills in their particular practice area. Associates have a Practice Development Partner through the WAMS program, in addition to formal and informal mentors, Practice Division Chairs, and the attorneys with whom they work, to assist Associates in achieving their practice and business development goals.

The firm is committed to establishing, implementing and institutionalizing firm-wide professional development programs for all of our attorneys. To that end, it continues to enhance University Stinson, a comprehensive program that combines substantive legal skills training with practical skills and career development. During the first three years of practice, all Associates participate in a core series of classes focused on basic lawyering skills within their practice areas. Several topics are of universal relevance, but most topics are part of the Litigation Practice Series or Transactional Practice Series. In most instances, each Division organizes training and workshops focused on developing the competencies within the Division. In addition, University Stinson offers programming on topics such as business development, communication skills, time management, connecting with the community and professionalism. Our Associate Development & Mentoring Committee offers ideas for additional training and education topics based upon attorney input and requests. Programming is focused on the development needs and requests of our attorneys, resulting in program content being timely, directly applicable and specific to our attorneys' practices and development needs.

The firm offers a formal mentoring program to provide additional resources to develop and train Associates and advance the quality of practice for all attorneys at the firm.

Giving and getting timely, candid and actionable performance feedback is essential for attorneys’ professional growth and for delivery excellent client service. We have recently initiative a real-time feedback tool to assist Associates in this endeavor. The initiative will complete a pilot stage before being rolled out across the firm in late 2023.