The Complete Lawyer

“The people who get on in this world,” wrote George Bernard Shaw, “are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” This is good advice in a bad market, but not always easy to follow.

Succeeding in troubled times isn’t really about luck, though we often talk about it that way; in fact, people who find opportunity and put themselves into positions to be “luckier” than some of their colleagues rely on an elegant combination of strategy and effort.

It’s not the circumstances themselves but rather our response to circumstances that makes all the difference. Firms don’t survive poor market conditions: individual lawyers do. Over the course of the past thirty years of market ups and downs, I have observed three types of associates and partners: those who survive, those who fail, and those who thrive regardless of external conditions. While the lawyers in this last group come from many different talents and backgrounds, they share three traits that support their success.

Clients Come First

Putting your client first means more than paying attention. Associates who thrive treat partners’ and clients’ problems as their own, not as mere assignments that generate billable hours. Focusing on the quality of their work, they learn what keeps their supervisors and clients up at night. They seek opportunities to add value to the tasks they are given and to broaden their roles on projects to alleviate the stress of more senior lawyers. That partner and client are satisfied with their work is what matters most to these associates.

Partners who thrive think of clients not as revenue sources but as friends and colleagues, which is why these partners focus on getting great results. They do not work at the 30K level on cases and deals—they know what is going on in their matters. When they communicate with clients, they know they need to inform, include, reassure, and offer support. It’s their responsibility to make their clients look good in any way possible. These partners also make it a priority to invest time learning about their clients’ businesses so they can partner with them to serve their needs ably.

Care About Learning, Not About Being “Learned”

Highly successful associates recognize that being “learned” means being left behind; instead, they demonstrate a level of intellectual curiosity that sets them apart. They pay attention to their professional development: asking for and acting on feedback, seeking information on expectations and developmental milestones, and reaching out for new experiences. Without asking whether their time is billable, they invest time in activities that will build skills and experience. They develop a plan to become better lawyers faster, and recommit to achieving that goal with every new task.

Partners who thrive balance healthy confidence in their expertise and level of mastery with an understanding that they can never stop learning. Welcoming new ideas and creative approaches, they keep abreast of trends and people both within and outside of their areas of practice. Although they share their knowledge, they are often the first to seek the opinions and ideas of others. They listen more than they talk and want to expand their knowledge and improve their skills.

Invest In Relationships

In bad times, it is easy to keep your head down and attend to only those problems that affect you. Today’s technologically isolating law practices support this individualistic approach. Yet associates who thrive have unusually large networks of positive relationships built over time. They don’t lose touch with classmates and colleagues—not because it’s good for business, but because they had real bonds with them, while at the same time establishing positive relationships with each person with whom they work, including staff. Successful associates are sought after by many people: junior associates want to be mentored by them; peer associates aren’t threatened by them because these associates know how to share the spotlight; partners know that these associates can step into managerial roles with confidence; and clients feel as if these associates took the time to really know them.

Partners who thrive are others- rather than ego-oriented. They establish and maintain strong relationships and use their connections to help others—to get good work for associates, make client introductions for colleagues, alert clients and friends to job openings and business opportunities, refer business to colleagues within and outside of the firm, and raise the visibility of the firm. By mentoring associates, they inspire loyalty. Leading by example and by sharing their client relationships with others, they inspire fellow partners to commit to strengthening the firm. They retain clients over the long-term by nurturing relationships both during and apart from the work they do together.

Given a choice, most of us would prefer to thrive, not just survive. Emulating the characteristics of the highly successful lawyers you know can help you navigate even a stormy stock market. “There are costs and risks to a program of action,” said President John F. Kennedy, “but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”