A junior Associate at a law firm called me the other day to complain. There is nothing unusual about that. Associates complain a lot, often with good reason.
Her complaint this time was that she told H.R. that she needed to take a day off for a personal reason and was informed that she had only two choices. She could take the day as vacation or unpaid.
“Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down.”
Grace Murray Hopper
I thought that it might be fun to test my skills as a writer, by writing about two things that have virtually nothing to do with each other. I considered writing about mosquitos and energy drinks, flags and ostriches, or trees and jet skis. But I wanted to find things that are irreconcilable, regardless of any possible context. After much thought, I hit upon “loyalty” and “law firms.”
According to the fictional Professor Kingsfield in the movie “The Paper Chase,” law students “come in … (to law school) … with a skull full of mush and … leave thinking like a lawyer.”
I have often wondered whether I would have been better off keeping my mushy mind so that I could think like a normal person, but that is a question for another day.
Although law schools teach students to understand and apply legal principles, there is plenty of stuff that they never mention, including the importance of having a rudimentary understanding of psychology.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
Peter Drucker
Back when I was a Managing Partner in a law firm, I did not think nearly enough about law firm culture. I really should have, but not only because it is the secret to business success. No, I should have thought more about firm culture because it is a crucial factor in whether or not lawyers are happy in their jobs, and as we all know, many of them are not very happy.
One of the values that drove me for a good long time was the importance of working hard and generating many billable hours.
I have concluded that there are three reasons that many lawyers work long hours. Some do it to serve their clients well. Others do it because they are workaholics. And finally, there are those who work all of the time because they are ambitious and they want to earn a lot of money. What all of these lawyers have in common is that they all believe that working hard will make them happy. It does not seem to work for many of them.
Tali Green recently (sarcastically)asked the following question on LinkedIn: “Are lazy and sub-par juniors contributing to the mental health crisis in the legal profession?”
By the time that I figured out that I could no longer cope with the pressures of the legal profession and that something had to give, I had been practicing business law for thirty-three years. What can I say… I am a slow learner. It took me almost another seven years to get out. I escaped with my health intact, but just barely.
I speak to a number of newly called lawyers looking to secure a job as an associate.
I tell these applicants that they should be ready to answer a question about business development. Here are my tips:
For years I delegated work to Mindy, who was very competent, productive, generous, and warm.
I never knew when I walked into Mindy’s office to ask her to do something whether she would be her usual lovable self or would bite my head off.
You may be familiar with the “KISS Principle” attributed to one Kelly Johnson, a renowned aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Martin.
It turns out that the concept of “Keep It Simple, Stupid” applies whether you are designing aircraft or solving legal issues.