Much of the work attorneys complete includes use of common technologies including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Most attorneys draft arguments in Word, analyze data in Excel and use Adobe Acrobat Pro to prepare documents to file electronically with the courts. However, numerous attorneys don’t know how to use these tools effectively and efficiently. Simply put, most law graduates could benefit greatly from training in advanced features of these programs never encountered during student life.
Richmond Law has subscribed to a training platform, Procertas, which provides just this sort of training specifically geared for law practice.
For each of the five programs covered— Word (three separate courses), Excel, Acrobat, and PowerPoint—Procertas starts users with an ungraded trainer module which assigns a series of tasks to perform on documents and submit for immediate evaluation. For each task, the module provides a concise video demonstrating exactly how to perform it. Following completion of the training module, the student can run the corresponding assessment module. The assessment addresses the same skills but without the training videos and immediate feedback. Along with correctness of the completed task, assessments grade heavily on speed of completion.
What’s the payoff? Besides excellent training in well-selected legal tech areas, digital certification badges for each module are awarded to students who perform the assessment at the Qualified or Expert (as opposed to Intermediate or Beginner) levels. A third party administrator issues these badges, and you can consider them resume-worthy. If you’re dissatisfied with your initial score, you can retake assessments until you are satisfied with your performance.
Before mid-October, all students will receive a welcome email from Procertas with a link for account activation. We encourage you to hone your skills by trying out this resource.
