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Law Practice Management

Strong Law Firms Stress Productivity Above Collegiality, Consultant Says

Posted Dec 11, 2008 10:38 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Many partners will pick collegiality as the most important element of a strong law firm culture.

But a consultant whose firm advised two dissolving law firms would disagree. Peter Zeughauser lists four essential ingredients of a strong law firm culture, and collegiality isn’t among them. His article in the American Lawyer says a strong culture includes:

  1. Hard work. The world’s best firms have high levels of productivity. They will shed underperforming partners rather than trying to manage low productivity through compensation. And they will make clear what lawyers must do to reach acceptable performance levels.

  2. Rewards for rainmakers. Law firms survive by staying busy, and that happens by rewarding lawyers who bring in the business.

  3. Having a shared vision. Law firms shouldn’t expand into a new city unless there is a good reason. There also should be a likelihood of attracting lawyers to work there and work to support them.

  4. Transparency. Partners who understand the economics of their law firm are more willing to support the steps needed to keep it strong. But firms should create a “culture of discretion” that discourages partners from talking to the media.

Comments

1.

B. McLeod
Dec 11, 2008 10:51 AM CST

Again, as with the story on the narcissist managing partners, this is hardly news, and hardly anything one would need to pay a consultant to discover.

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2.

Rob P.
Dec 12, 2008 8:00 AM CST

Depends what you want.  If you want to make more money, then this approach makes sense.  If you want to enjoy your job, keep your employees happy, avoid spending your time recruiting laterals to replace the people who hate working with you, collegiality is more important.  And you can still make plenty of money.

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3.

Anna B
Dec 12, 2008 8:46 AM CST

I fully support Rob P.‘s comment!  Defining success to be only about billable hours and making money overlooks quality of life issues.  The singular emphasis on cash in the door drives so many lawyers who are looking to make a difference in the world and still enjoy their lives out of the profession every year.

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4.

MS
Dec 12, 2008 8:57 AM CST

Also depends on how you define “collegiality”. Whoever that consultant is, he seems to think that “hard work” and collegiality are irreconcilable. If he knew anything about law firms, he would know that this is not true.

Collegiality means (inter alia) (i) being honest and fair, (ii) never back-stabbing any other partner, (iii) share work and clients with other partners so as to achieve the best result for the firm and (iv) ensure you all work in an inspiring, happy and truly collegiate environment.

Does that mean you work less hard? No. If you have a firm with no collegiality, there will be no glue. You will miss many opportunity. You will have to work harder to achieve the same result, because in a collegiate environment, you do not get the best out of people, and it shows.

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5.

Hadley V. Baxendale
Dec 12, 2008 9:53 AM CST

Back when this was a profession, collegiality among attorneys (and staff) was important and spilled over to the clients in a form of good will and confidence building.  Now that this is just another business producing service widgets, it doesn’t help the profit line and often hurts it—there’s an economic loss by carryng the semi-productive attorney (even if she is covering her expenses), the semi-retired, and those who devote time to non-billable work including teaching, pro bono, a govwernment office such as city council, etc.  It’s all about the money now.  These comments BTW pertain to the “big firm” business model.

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6.

chuck
Dec 12, 2008 10:07 AM CST

Rob P. gets it.

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7.

jr
Dec 12, 2008 10:11 AM CST

Collgegiality does not count, but shared vision , high productivity, transparency and discretion do?  What, then, does the study’s author think collegiality entails?  Goofing off at the water cooler? 
Collegiality entails shared vision, requires accommodation to personal needs to assure loyalty, productivity and hard work and involves honesty (in today’s buzz word transparency) with discretion to keep confidences in house.

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8.

Truth to Power
Dec 12, 2008 10:17 AM CST

I agree with the basic idea.  In my experience, “collegiality” in a law firm is often code for retaining nonproductive partners, who are subsidized by those who make rain and/or are willing to do the work required to succeed.  A firm must purge nonproductive partners or it is not “honest and fair”.  Accommodation of personal needs for a few leads to accommodation for all and stagnation.

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9.

Boutique Firm Owner
Dec 12, 2008 10:42 AM CST

The article defines the elements of a “strong” law firm, which to me means profitable and able to survive tough times, the latter being the issue of the day. It would be great to be both strong and nice. But its more important for me to feed my family than it is to have a “collegial” environment, which, by the way, you shouldn’t need in order to feel like a professional. Do the work well and the rest will follow.

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10.

HVB
Dec 12, 2008 10:56 AM CST

At first I dismissed this comment as naive: “Do the work well and the rest will follow” until I noted the poster’s name “Boutique Firm Owner.” What is says can be true for boutiques, smalll to mid-sized firms, general practitioners, but not always foir those in the large firm setting.  BTW I left a large one to open a solo practice, largely to return to that philosophy.  It has paid off in spades; I have too much work and have yet to do any marketing other than “good work” and personal attention.

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11.

Heidi O
Dec 12, 2008 11:26 AM CST

I spent 7 years in a very strong law firm consisting of 2 partners, 2 support staff, a file clerk/janitor.  We were the only lawyers in town in a small, rural, logging town 1 hour from the big city.  We owned our building, I had a great view of the river out my window (as well as the random escaped cow and about 50 log trucks that lumbered by every day).  But most importantly, people walked in off the street to hire us to draft wills, handle real estate transactions, help them deal with boundary disputes, and every other legal dispute or transaction you can think of (bill of sale for a herd of llama?).  I lived 4 blocks from my office in a house on a 14,000 sq foot lot that cost less than $100K with an amazing view of forest and foothills.  We were the only firm in our county that provided health insurance for our staff.  It cut my income.  So what?  I still made a healthy income, had a low cost of living, and was part of a wonderful firm culture and community.  I sold my partnership interest to devote time to my small children. 

Bottom line?  We were collegial and we were extremely productive.  And our quality of life was unmatched by those struggling to bill an obscene number of hours so they can make partner some day in a firm on 21st floor.  Many years after I left, my former staff is still like family.  And my experience at that small firm has made me an invaluable asset, thriving as a professional contract lawyer to the firms who are too afraid of the economic climate to hire associates (or are laying them off).  And working for attorneys who are sharing legal assistants with 2 other attorneys.  (What’s that all about?)

My point, and I do have one, is that Big law is highly over-rated.

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