In A Time of Tumult (eBook)

Chapter 2

No Team Is Perfect

One of the great joys in a leadership role is mentoring, building, and collaborating with teams of people, both lawyers and staff. When asked why I remained in a law firm management role for so many years, I responded that there were few opportunities in business where you can work with a team comprised of people who are incredibly bright, motivated, and sincerely interested in outcomes and where you can have such an immediate impact on an organization. It is a role that has tremendous rewards and significant challenges. But it is not for everyone.

You Have to Believe

The success of sports teams relies upon getting the right coach and management, the right team members, and everyone buying into what it takes to win even when the going gets tough. It doesn’t happen overnight and no great team springs to life overnight.

It starts with belief. Team members need to believe in their ability to reach their goal and to prevail despite the obstacles. This is the baseline for a high-functioning team, whether in sports, a law firm, or elsewhere. People can’t follow anything for long if they don’t believe in it or the person leading them.

“You are only as good as your team,” says Derek Halliburton, COO of Stites & Harbison, who emphasizes that “active listening” and “dropping the silos” help cultivate a tight leadership team focused on being a “one-firm firm.”

When It’s Not a Fit

Law firms, bless them, are invariably reluctant to change out personnel, whether they be lawyers or staff. Notwithstanding the advice of employment counsel, I have yet to encounter an instance in a law firm where someone who isn’t succeeding in a position does not get enough time to turn things around. Rather, they are left in the wrong slot for months--or even years--to further confirm that the person isn’t suited for the job. With pressure on margins and doing more with less, the cost of the wrong person in a leadership or management role rises exponentially. The longer it goes on, the more resources are required. Coaching and training can sometimes help, but no amount of training can remedy the wrong person in a position. Worse, those who are out-of-step with the team or the organization slow its progress and consume outsized amounts of energy and time.

Not unlike a new coach, a new managing partner or COO inherits a team. And, like any team, some of the biggest challenges are fit and function–fit with the culture, fellow team members, and the organization as well as alignment and function consistent with the game plan.

Effective leaders are good at quickly figuring out those who can benefit from skill-building versus those who will do better in another role. “You know what you are going to get from people. It’s unlikely you’re going to change them, but you can give people new skills,” says Paul Favorite, COO of Shumaker Loop & Kendrick.

When the pressure is on to deliver, a team member out-of-step with others or who is in constant need of attention to keep on track thwarts progress. “You have to have a team that really works well together,” says Shonette Gaston of Blank Rome. She advises that the less ego in the room the better for working collaboratively, observing that “stroking egos gets in the way.”

Every law firm encounters a crisis from time to time and when it does, it’s nice to have a team you can count on—repeatedly—to come through. And, when a pandemic engulfs the planet, it is imperative.

How Much Staff Is Just Right

One of the stickiest managerial issues in law firms is striking the right balance between enough staff to get the work done and controlling overhead expenses. It is a nuanced calculation. Nowhere is a strong culture and communication more evident than effectively navigating how much staff is just right.

Determining how much staff and what staff roles are “just right” is an inexact calculation. What is just right for one lawyer, or practice, or office doesn’t work for another. Because of the nearly universal remote working that began during the pandemic, technology adoption and integration forced lawyers into far more self-sufficiency and tech mastery than in the past. Without question, the remote working paradigm induced a seismic shift in the way work gets done.

Substantial changes are under way as firms sort out the right number and proper roles for staff members. At the same time, they are redefining the responsibilities and skills best suited to a flexible work environment that includes more technologically capable lawyers combined with new technology and AI tools.

The need for the traditional secretary, for example, is receding in favor of pooled resources and smart technology. Secretaries are transitioning into legal assistants serving as administrative “right hands” for several lawyers, billing some of their time as well as providing value-added help with client contacts, matter management, and a mastery of the tools needed to support lawyer work and work product.

Skill Building for Staff a Priority

More generally, staff mastery of technology, a digital and virtual operating environment, and basic project management supported by a desire to keep skill-building are essential elements of not only staff members’ future success but their firm’s as well.

Ron Avenida, COO of Meyers Nave, describes the evolving staffing model as “more matrixed.” He expects that within a couple years, firms “will support the lawyers differently and secretaries will have different roles” as part of a different support structure. He points out that staff needs to understand what it takes to support the firm and see where the opportunities for growth are; he makes a crucial point in that it is not just the lawyers who want to see career and compensation advancement. It is difficult in a flat organization like a law firm to provide numerous upward trajectories for the staff, but it needs to be routinely considered to attract and retain talent. It puts pressure on staff, just like the lawyers, to pursue skill building. This also means that law firms need to consistently facilitate learning at all levels through an internal learning management program, an external one, or a combination of the two.

Unfortunately, those who cannot adapt and develop their skills and knowledge are destined to fall behind. “Firms will need fewer lawyers and more tech savvy staff,” predicts Rick Mackessy, CFO of Steptoe & Johnson. Considering the law firm of tomorrow, Mackessy points out that the arc of technology is moving through legal services at an unprecedented pace and at unprecedented levels.

“Technology is the great leveler,” observes Firoz Dattu, founder of AdvanceLaw, a collective of more than 250 general counsel, which vets and shares performance information on law firms. Dattu says, however, that “change happens in increments, not overnight. What started as physical document review became scanning and on-line review, with greater digital functionality over time, and only recently incorporated machine learning or AI.”

The Imperative of Resiliency

Professionals from other industries who arrive with different perspectives and ideas can be immensely helpful in bringing corporate experience and fresh insights into a law firm. However, the adjustment is a big one. No matter how many preparatory interviews with the lawyers or warnings about how partners see themselves as their boss, the transition for the business professional to law firm administration is invariably a jolt. Woe to the administrator who disregards lawyer concerns over new software, law firm laptops, or legal assistant assignments, for example.

Law firms present a unique framework that works best with confident staff professionals who listen carefully, keep their cool, communicate skillfully, and roll with the challenges to solve problems. Bending rather than breaking is all important; in other words, they need to be resilient.

“Don’t make assumptions,” advises Ron Avenida of Meyers Nave, who not only has years of experience as a senior law firm administrator, but who came to the legal services sector from a technology start-up. “It is not a corporate environment, and there are no clear lines.” He says it is critical to anticipate where problems may occur and have a backup plan ready. He adds, “resiliency is key. You’re not always going to get agreement on your first shot.”

Partners As Owners

Unless they have a degree in business or finance, or worked in business in a previous career, lawyers are rarely conversant with the day-to-day requirements for running a law firm. Lawyers choose law for a host of reasons, none of which generally relates to a passion for running or operating a business. Yet, they still view themselves as owners. It is an interesting dichotomy and can be confusing to those professionals new to the business of law who must decipher what this means on a day-to-day basis.

Partners or law firm shareholders may own the business, but as business owners, they are expected to practice law full time--billing for as much of their time as possible and managing client expectations in often emotionally-charged circumstances. Adding to this the need for business development, client relationship building, and professional development as well as mentoring and...