Why BARBRI? The Next Chapter for SkillBurst

Nearly six months ago, we announced that SkillBurst had been acquired by BARBRI. Since then, many of you have asked, "Why BARBRI? Isn't BARBRI focused on preparing law students for the bar exam?"

The answer is yes—BARBRI has long been the leader in bar exam preparation in the U.S. and SQE preparation in the UK. However, BARBRI’s vision has expanded. Today, BARBRI is on a mission to become the go-to training provider for lawyers and staff throughout the arc of their careers. The acquisition of SkillBurst was a strategic step in this journey, strengthening BARBRI’s position in the professional development space and enabling us to better support law firms in developing their legal talent beyond the bar exam.

Why SkillBurst?

On the flip slide, you might wonder, why did BARBRI acquire SkillBurst? SkillBurst is a trusted name in legal professional development, working with well over half of the AmLaw 100 and AmLaw 200 firms in the U.S. as well as many of their counterparts in the UK, Canada, and across the globe. SkillBurst has a strong brand, strong reputation, and is respected by Chief Talent Officers, Professional Development Directors, Chief Human Resource Officers, and many others in the legal industry.

Why? The SkillBurst approach to training lawyers and staff is resonating with firms, lawyers, and staff – and has been for over a decade. The bite-sized training hits the mark with today's learners - and the interactivity in the modules enables learners to practice their new skills before implementing them in the real world. The range of content available meets some of the most pressing training needs that firms have today - including elevating the professional skills of new associates, elevating the professional skills of emerging leaders and new managers, and upskilling everyone in the firm on the fundamentals of Generative AI. Law Firms value the fact that SkillBurst's content and messaging are designed specifically for law firms - and that the approach respects the time, intelligence, and professionalism of the audience. Lastly, with SkillBurst's approach, all courses can be branded to the firm and further customized, ensuring that firms can provide training that 100% aligns with their policies, practices, and preferences. With the ability to stand up a firm-branded, robust digital learning library in a matter of days, we make our clients look good and provide them with seamless, high-quality learning experiences. For BARBRI's expansion into the Professional Development realm, adding SkillBurst into the mix was a logical next step.  

What Does This Mean for Our SkillBurst Clients?

Expanded Training Solutions. The SkillBurst training solutions remain at the core of what we offer. But now, you’ll also have access to an even broader range of training solutions - including CLE training solutions through BARBRI’s Strafford CLE platform, ACEDS e-discovery training, and bar and SQE prep solutions. This means more learning opportunities, more resources, and an even greater ability to support your firm’s professional development goals through a centralized provider.

Input to Future Training Solutions. You’ve always known SkillBurst for our commitment to building what our clients ask us to build—and that continues as we integrate into BARBRI. We recently conducted a survey of all SkillBurst clients to gather insights on what you need next. We are actively assessing your feedback to shape the future of our offerings. We are also conducting interviews with clients to better understand your challenges and opportunities and explore how we can continue to expand to meet your evolving needs. If you'd like to schedule a call with our BARBRI/SkillBurst leadership team, please send me a note at catherine.poole@barbri.com and we'll set up a time to talk.

Enterprise Arrangements. Many SkillBurst clients are also existing BARBRI clients. Your firm might subscribe, for example, to BARBRI's Strafford CLE passes as well as SkillBurst's Professional Essentials, Respectful Workplace, and/or Generative AI Fundamentals subscriptions. There is an opportunity now to restructure your arrangements into enterprise-wide arrangements. Wouldn't you love economies of scale and just one agreement and one expiration date for a significant portion of your training needs? Give us a call and we'll be happy to talk through possibilities for simplifying and streamlining your access.

Expanded Account Teams. As we continue our integration, we are expanding our Account Teams to continue serve you well across an expanding array of training options. We'll be reaching out to individual clients shortly with more details on what this means to you. 

Thank You for Being Part of Our Journey

We’re excited about this next chapter and look forward to continuing to partner with you to create impactful, innovative learning experiences. If you have any questions or want to learn more about what’s ahead, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for being part of our journey; there’s much more to come!