Ryan Lockman is the managing partner of Horn Williamson & Collins, a mid-sized construction and commercial litigation law firm in Philadelphia and Delaware. A trial lawyer representing homeowners in residential construction defect and consumer protection disputes throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Ryan has secured more than $20 million in verdicts and arbitration awards, including a $3.2 million jury verdict for homeowners in a construction defect trial. He earned his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, which informs his approach to law firm management, operational efficiency, and long-term strategic growth. Most recently, Ryan developed Construction Defect University, an AI-assisted internal training platform built using Claude Code to provide more structured onboarding and practice-specific training for attorneys and paralegals.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT ATTORNEY TRAINING

Law firms have long relied on observation-based training, with younger lawyers learning by sitting in meetings, listening to experienced attorneys talk through cases, and gradually figuring out how the work gets done. But as Ryan Lockman explains, that kind of ad hoc training only goes so far when new attorneys and paralegals need to understand the terminology, client communication expectations, and litigation process before the work starts to make sense.

At Horn Williamson & Collins, Ryan started addressing that gap by creating more structure inside the firm, including team leaders, internal CLEs, and clearer benchmarks for how attorneys and paralegals should stay on top of cases and communicate with clients. From there, he built Construction Defect University, an AI-assisted internal training platform designed to give new attorneys and paralegals more practice-specific training.

In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge, Elise Holtzman talks with Ryan Lockman about why the old expectation that lawyers should "just figure it out" is breaking down, how structured training supports client service and talent retention, what Construction Defect University actually includes, and how he built it using Claude Code in less than 30 hours.

3:16 - Ryan's path from civil rights law to construction defect litigation

7:00 - How business school changed Ryan's approach to running a law firm

11:15 - Recognizing when an ad hoc training approach no longer works

14:37 - Why "hit the ground running" was never a reasonable expectation

16:23 - The connection between attorney training and talent retention

20:28 - Using incentives to help lawyers understand expectations

23:20 - Training team leaders to manage, mentor, and communicate

27:17 - How Ryan built an AI-assisted internal training platform

29:27 - Internal response to the platform and involving associates in the process

30:46 - What Construction Defect University includes for attorneys and paralegals

36:24 - Using AI as a substitute for hands, not brains

39:21 - Why leaders forget what new lawyers do not know

Mentioned In How One Managing Partner Is Rethinking Attorney Training From the Ground Up

Horn Williamson & Collins | LinkedIn

Ryan Lockman on LinkedIn

Claude Code

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