Training & Development
At Curtis, training and development are essential at all stages of a lawyer's career. In order to serve the needs of both new and experienced attorneys, we provide:
- Curtis in-house CLE programs (generally live presentations by Curtis attorneys or guests)
- Practicing Law Institute (PLI) programs (live, video and online presentations offered by a third-party CLE provider)
- Additional specialized training outside the firm.
Our in-house program consists of workshops and seminars on substantive legal issues in all areas of practice as well as legal ethics, business development and other foundations essential to intelligent lawyering and excellent client service.
Our Summer Associate and First-Year programs introduce our junior attorneys to the firm's major practice areas. Apart from those programs, training at Curtis typically is divided by department in order to effectively develop the knowledge and proficiency of each of our lawyers. Every department regularly holds seminars on practice-specific skills, important developments and emerging legal trends. For example, our corporate associates participate in workshops that walk them through the stages of an M&A transaction. Our litigators benefit from workshops to build deposition and trial techniques. Our litigators also participate in an intensive trial advocacy program that we run each year in conjunction with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
Curtis programs are conducted, for the most part, by our own attorneys, including partners, counsel and associates. This allows Curtis attorneys to share the experience and insights that have made them among the most accomplished and successful attorneys in their areas of practice, as well as to communicate the special features of the Curtis style of practice. On occasion, we also bring in outside experts to provide their perspectives on topics such as public speaking and technology.
In addition to promoting the firm's core value of excellence in all elements of lawyering, our training programs foster our collegiality, as well as an exchange of ideas and experiences that enhance all aspects of our practice.
Benefits
Curtis has established a variety of employee benefits programs designed to assist eligible dependents in meeting the financial burdens that can result from illness, disability, and death, in planning for retirement, and in dealing with job-related or personal problems. The group health and life insurance and retirement-related programs are described more fully in the benefit booklets, copies of which will be provided on request. Benefits available to eligible employees include:
- Medical
Health Coverage Disclosure: This link leads to the machine-readable files that are made available in response to the federal Transparency in Coverage Rule and includes negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers. The machine readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data. This link can be accessed here: https://www.cigna.com/legal/compliance/machine-readable-files - Dental
- 401(k) Plan
- Defined Benefit Pension Plan
- HR-10 Plan
- Group Life Insurance
- Voluntary Life Insurance
- Group Long Term Disability Insurance
- Voluntary Long Term Disability Insurance
- Short Term Disability Insurance
- Workers’ Compensation Insurance
- Flexible Spending Account
- Family Medical Leave
- Maternity and Primary Caregiver Paid Leave
- New York Paid Family Leave
- Employee Child Care Paid Leave
- Parental Paid Leave
- Employee Assistance Plan
- Assist America Emergency Travel Assistance
- Commuter and Parking Benefits
- Heath Club Membership
- Vacation, Sick and Personal Paid Days