Continue Your Education with Skillshare.com

When it comes to post-law school learning, most lawyers think of continuing legal education or CLE.  And while it’s important for lawyers to stay fresh on law-related developments in their respective practice areas, in these dynamic times, lawyers — and particularly solos — need to learn other skills as well.  While large firm lawyers or established solos have the luxury of outsourcing IT, marketing and other non-legal, law firm support functions, many cash-strapped new solos don’t have money to burn on these services. Yet because so many lawyers have been persuaded that these services are vital, they may waste money on pricey services that don’t necessarily meet their needs.

While DIY isn’t necessarily the solution, my view is that lawyers who run their own businesses need to know at least enough about marketing, IT, SEO logo and web design  and SEO to be dangerous.  That’s where a site like Skillshare.com comes in handy.  At Skillshare, lots of experts sign up to teach courses on SEO and web design. You can even learn skills of a more technical nature, like developing an app or a logo or your own website. The courses are affordably priced – ranging from $15 to a $200 or so, some taught online and some in person.  Even if you don’t actually implement what you’ve learned in the course, you’ll gain familiarity with these services that can inform your negotiations with vendors.

Of course, as a lawyer, you’re not limited to simply learning new skills on Skillshare. You can sign up to teach them as well. Perusing the list of courses, I found lawyers teaching courses on incorporation and trademark law.  Sure, you can teach a CLE program, but why share skills with other lawyers when you can  share them directly with the end user?

Have you taken a class on Skillshare – or some other non-legal, but lawfirm-critical  course (web design? accounting?)  And was it useful to your practice?  Chime in on the comments below.