The Association of Corporate Counsel Foundation has teamed up with TED to introduce TEDLaw trainings catering to chief legal officers, general counsel, and senior in-house advisors.
The professional development initiative was developed with contributions from general counsel, law professors, private practitioners, law students, and judges. It combines curated TED content with collaborative case simulations and facilitated dialogue.
The training centers on what the ACC regarded as five core pillars in modern legal leadership:
- Legal identity and values
- Critical thinking
- Intuitive collaboration
- Cultural competence
- AI and law
The legal identity and values pillar enhances lawyers’ internal compass to exercise judgment, be courageous, and act in professional responsibility in times of pressure, ethical uncertainty, and crisis. The critical thinking pillar urges lawyers to slow down and reason clearly in times of pressure.
The intuitive collaboration pillar helps lawyers work with technology such that it improves legal judgment and remains accountable. The AI and law pillar aims to develop lawyers’ collaborative judgment. The cultural competence pillar assists lawyers in displaying empathy, awareness, and clarity with regard to cultural misunderstanding.
Through the partnership, law firms can conduct TEDLaw trainings together with TEDLaw and the ACC Foundation effective this year. TED general counsel Nishat Ruiter said in a statement that the ACC Foundation partnership was “a natural fit” with the foundation’s strong connections to in-house legal leaders helping to introduce TED’s learning model to the legal profession.
“TEDLaw trainings are about creating space for lawyers to step back, reflect, and engage with big ideas that shape how they lead and serve. By combining TED’s powerful learning model with the lived experiences of legal leaders, we are offering something truly distinctive—an experience that fosters curiosity, empathy, and forward-looking leadership,” said Jennifer Chen, the ACC Foundation’s executive director.
TEDLaw has also collaborated with the National Center for State Courts, Luminance, and Let’s Think.