Irwin Mitchell’s groundbreaking partnership wins second award

10 May 2013

National law firm Irwin Mitchell is celebrating once again after its partnership with the University of Law and The Chartered Legal Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) to provide staff with quality support to achieve their career ambitions won the Development of Talent prize at this year’s Halsbury Legal awards.

The firm beat off competition from local authorities and legal opposition to take home the award in relation to its IMU Law and Business School programme at the event held at The Lancaster in London last night.

Established in 2011, the initiative is the first legal and business education programme of its kind to be developed by a law firm in partnership with both the University of Law (formerly the College of Law) and CILEx.

It has already helped more than 200 people to go through its programmes, which use internal and external experts to provide development opportunities for all staff from paralegal to partner level. The courses also lead to externally validated degree level qualifications.

This award win is just the latest recognition for the programme, which was also named Education and Training Initiative of the Year at the British Legal Awards in November last year.

Catherine Kenwright, Head of Learning and Knowledge Management at Irwin Mitchell, said: “We are delighted to once again see our partnership with the University of Law and CILEx recognised at a prestigious industry event.

“This award is testament to the great efforts of all involved to ensure that everyone within our firm is able to access the learning and development resources they need to achieve all of their career and professional ambitions.

“The initiative is only two years old and we are committed to ensuring we continue to take further steps to ensure that our employees have the opportunities they need to thrive and continue to provide a high level of service to our clients.”

Jenny Pelling, CILEx Law School’s Business Director, said: “The award is a fitting recognition of Irwin Mitchell’s commitment to learning and development. We take great pleasure in seeing our students perform so well in the context of the IMU Law and Business School programme, and to witness the contribution of those who study CILEx courses to Irwin Mitchell’s business.”

Tricia Chatterton, Business Development Director at The University of Law, said: “We are delighted that this bespoke programme, created through the active three-way collaboration between ourselves, Irwin Mitchell and CILEx, continues to draw plaudits from the industry and to deliver results to our client.

“Developing talent to maximise the potential of each person at every level across the business is key to the future success of law firms, and we are delighted to have been part of this innovative approach to achieving that goal.”

If you would like to set up an in-house academy for your organisation, please contact Jenny Pelling on 01234 844326 or email [email protected]

ENDS