Global law firm, Lovells, had a story yesterday in the Telegraph on executive education and their joining forces with Cass Business School "to launch the world's first MBA for lawyers" (see also their press release on this programme last October).

Suzanne Fine, Lovells training manager, is "delighted at what she describes as a unique take on the executive MBA.  What we've done is turn the idea of the MBA on its head.  Lawyers begin by studying electives and then progress to core modules.  In a standard MBA it’s the other way round."

Cass's director of education, Scott Moeller, is the course leader.  He believes that "the Law MBA is part of a growing trend towards bespoke executive education".

Two of the 60 young corporate lawyers, most of them recently qualified after their two-year training contract, participating in the programme are quoted in the article.  They spend one evening per month at Cass and can expect to qualify for their MBA in seven years at the earliest, although they can still continue their education if they transfer to another firm.

With various Web 2.0 social tools now upon us, these young lawyers will have the freedom and opportunity to set up a combination of individual private blogs, public blogs and public blogs limited to a closed group, in which to diarise what they have learned each day / week / month and to share their work, problems, solutions and ideas, which can only enhance the overall learning experience.

In closing, I am reminded of one of the KM bibles, Learning To Fly by Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell, three core chapters in which are about:

Learning Before.

Learning During.

Learning After. 

Social tools provide a rich source of ingredients to achieve each of these, and these three disciplines of review and reflection will themselves be invaluable tools to the Lovells MBA students.  Good luck with your MBA.