From complying with state bar requirements to keeping up with changing industry standards, legal professionals don’t stop after earning their degrees. The pursuit of legal knowledge is constant, and your legal organization must keep up.
You need a learning management system that can handle the demands of ongoing legal education. Your organization may have questions about learning management systems for law firms, such as:
The good news? You’ve come to the right place! Read on for the answers to the most frequently asked questions about this powerful tech.
Considering that 77% of organizations in the U.S. rely on eLearning platforms for professional development, you may already be aware of eLearning technology. However, solutions tailored to legal learning offer unique features and capabilities that can’t be found in generic platforms.
A learning management system (LMS) for law firms is a digital platform that enables organizations to create, manage, and deliver legal eLearning content. While law firms use these tools to provide employee onboarding and training, a legal-focused LMS is also essential for legal associations offering continuing legal education (CLE) courses and other valuable training.
In other words, a learning management system for law firms has multiple applications across the industry, making it an indispensable tool for legal education and training.
Continuing education is a top priority for employees of numerous industries. Research suggests it’s the second most popular reason members join an organization, followed by the ability to access specialized or current information relevant to their careers. Pair this personal drive for learning with the mandatory CLE requirements in 46 states and other jurisdictions, and anyone can see that learning opportunities aren’t just a preference—they’re a necessity.
That’s why learning management systems have become a priority for legal organizations of all types. From developing courses to hosting webinars to recruiting guest speakers, eLearning content development can be a time-consuming and intensive process. The right LMS enables legal professionals to receive the training they need and streamlines the course creation process for organizations.
Take The North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA), for example. This prominent legal association needed to enhance its CLE delivery without increasing administrative tasks or complicating the user experience. After implementing the Path LMS™ platform, this association expanded its CLE library with over 100 new continuing education hours annually while reducing redundant administrative tasks.
While the learning management system you choose depends on your organization’s unique needs, there are a few considerations everyone should take into account.
Online learning is the fastest-growing market in the education industry, growing 900% since its inception in 2000. As such, there are myriad tools on the market that offer baseline features, like course catalogs and virtual events. However, legal organizations need tools and features that are purpose-built to support legal learning.
While both a learning management system for law firms and a generic platform will offer centralized learning management, they differ in a few significant ways.
Generic LMSs have limitations such as:
A dedicated LMS for law firms, in contrast, offers legal-specific eLearning capabilities, such as:
Let’s look at these key LMS features in more detail.
Continuing legal education (CLE) functionality refers to the LMS’s ability to track CLE requirements, report completed courses, and issue CLE credits. After all, CLE programs are fundamental to your organization’s learning strategy. Without this capability, your LMS won’t be able to deliver the learning outcomes most learners are looking for from a legal eLearning experience.
While generic learning management systems offer some integrations, legal organizations need an LMS that integrates with specialized technology, such as:
For example, Path LMS integrates with the American Bar Association MCLE so legal organizations can automatically verify and report MCLE credits across jurisdictions. Legal organizations using a generic LMS miss out on the efficiency and reduced risk associated with legal-specific integrations.
When considering learning management systems for your law firm, browse the integrations offered by top contenders. These lists will give you an idea of how the software fits into your existing tech stack without interrupting your current workflows.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming the legal industry, with 79% of legal professionals using it for daily tasks like information gathering and data analysis. AI can also streamline and enhance content creation within your learning management system if the tool you use offers those capabilities.
AI-powered LMS tools can automatically generate course outlines, learning objectives, content summaries, and assessment questions.
With robust virtual event solutions, legal organizations can deliver webinars, workshops, conferences, and other events that engage learners. These tools are vital to your legal organization’s ability to conduct remote or hybrid training and networking events.
In addition to event hosting features, these solutions also include:
To maximize the value you receive from virtual event solutions, invest in an LMS backed by a team that can provide event planning, management, and technical support.
Especially for legal associations looking to boost their non-dues revenue, eCommerce functionality is imperative. This feature enables legal organizations to monetize their educational offerings by selling courses, certifications, and programs through the platform.
Of course, every organization’s needs differ when shopping for the right eLearning platform. If you need help narrowing down the features your organization needs most, download our LMS shopping checklist.
In an industry where confidentiality is crucial when handling clients’ legal data, it only makes sense to use a learning management system with a similar dedication to data privacy.
System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type 2 is a certification developed by the AICPA that signifies a system adheres to strict data security management standards. This certification demonstrates the platform can:
An LMS with SOC 2 Type 2 Certification has demonstrated that the vendor has controls in place to protect sensitive data and maintain system reliability. When looking for a learning management system for law firms, look for this certification, as well as other indicators of system security. For example, ask potential candidates about other security features, like data encryption, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and data recovery plans.
Finding the right LMS for legal organizations can be tricky, which is why we’re upfront about all of the offerings your association can tap into with Path LMS. Our learning management system is designed to streamline every aspect of course creation and learner engagement, all while keeping your industry-specific needs in mind.
Here are just a few of the stand-out features offered by Path LMS:
Plus, with Path LMS, your legal organization doesn’t just receive a suite of helpful tools—you gain access to the support of an experienced team dedicated to your success. Our client and learner support teams include dedicated Client Success Managers (CSMs), event facilitators, moderators, and technical support specialists to ensure the success of your legal education webinars and conferences.
Now that you know the basics of a learning management system for law firms, you may be ready to start shopping for one. Whether your organization doesn’t have an LMS yet or needs to update its existing system, it’s important to take your time while shopping and make sure you choose the solution that’s right for you.
Explore lists of top LMSs and reviews on reliable websites, such as G2 and Capterra. As you narrow down your list of top contenders, request demos of the solutions you’re most interested in to see the platforms for yourself. Then, curate a list of questions for the vendor and assess their communication to decide whether they’ll work well with your team.
Of course, a great place to start your research is with Path LMS. We’re confident that you won’t need to look any further because our platform offers all the tools you need to deliver successful learning experiences.
If you want to learn more about what the right learning management system can offer, check out these additional resources:
Path LMS is used by hundreds of organizations to deliver high-quality online learning, networking events, and conferences. Book a demo today!
