Lovells Launches Worldwide English Language Training for Lawyers and Staff

11 July 2006

International law firm Lovells has launched an online English language training service for its professional and support staff. The training is provided by GlobalEnglish Corporation, the leading online English learning and support service for business communication. The implementation follows a pilot project carried out in late 2005 involving 49 employees from 11 of Lovells' 26 offices around the world, including offices in France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain. The programme has now been rolled out and up to 200 employees are expected to take part in this English language training across the firm during the first year.

An important part of delivering a high-quality service to international clients includes ensuring that staff has easy access to effective English language training. The investment in online language training is viewed as an important aspect of the firm's drive to make training available to everyone across the firm at any time. The cost of taking part in the training is paid for by Lovells and the programme can be accessed either in the office or at home.

According to Suzanne Fine, Director of Legal Training, "Most of our client work and internal communication is conducted in English and many of our legal and support staff already have a degree of fluency. However, we have always recognised the need to ensure that we are providing our people with ways of improving their English language skills. Previous methods we had used tended to be more expensive and less flexible."

"The pilot project was very successful. Participants particularly like the fact that it is flexible and they are able to progress at their own pace. Many have found that they have been able to put to use what they have learnt immediately."

Marc Bartel, Director of International projects, said, "We have a commitment to investing in growing the skills of our people around the world. As an international law firm, helping them develop their language skills is an important part of that investment. GlobalEnglish has worked closely with us on setting up the training in a way that reflects our particular needs."

The system is designed to be adaptable to the existing language skills of the user. Online instruction is provided through a series of audio visual and written exercises and includes the ability to take part in online discussions with other participants. Other users of the GlobalEnglish® service include Accenture, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Deutsche Telekom, Hewlett-Packard, IBM Japan, Mitsubishi Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Wyeth.

For further information, please contact:

Alexandra Caish Press Officer Lovells Tel: +44 20 7296 2539 Email Contact

Dayna Verstegen Marketing GlobalEnglish Corporation Tel: +1 650.246.6114 Email Contact

SOURCE: GlobalEnglish

Source: marketwire

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