A Lawyer Walks into a Bar is now out on DVD!

If you recall, I screened this documentary at the SXSW film festival last spring where it garnered great reviews. The highly compelling film depicts the tale of 6 poor souls struggling to prepare for and take the abomination that is the California Bar Exam...and then waiting, waiting for the results!

The film has garnered quite a bit of attention. After premiering at SXSW, it was screened at the the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Independent Film Festival in Boston, and actually won the AFI Dallas Texas Competition. It has been written about in the Wall Street Journal, Premiere Magazine, and the Village Voice. AND in conjunction with its release on video this week, it will be profiled on Ebert & Roeper this weekend! Program your DVR!

The movie is now available on www.Amazon.com. Check it out! I think it should be required viewing for anyone pondering a career in law. Read more about the movie starring Alan Dershowitz, Nancy Grace, Joe Jamail, Mark Lanier, Scott Turow, Robert Shapiro, and Eddie Griffin at www.alawyerwalksintoabar.com

Law Firm Politics?? They're GRRRRREAT!

Okay. I know what you are thinking: this guy is nuts and law firm politics really stink. Au contraire!!!!

I firmly believe now, after plenty of my own well-earned battle scars, that avoiding politics is just another way of playing politics--only in a really ineffectual and doomed-to-failure way. There is no getting around "playing the game". The point is to understand how human beings actually interact socially and how to get one's mind around one's own comfortable approach towards engaging.

Anyway, I can't help incorporating just a little philosophy to boot. Brilliant political theorist Hannah Arendt had tons to say on the upside potential of playing politics in a creative, wholesome way. Click here for the full monty.

Have a political day!!!

"Danger, Will Robinson!"--Baby Boomers About To Retire En Masse

I mentioned in an earlier blog the huge opportunities and challenges facing law firms with the impending baby boomer exodus from the leadership ranks. I thought I would expand on that theme here.

That's right, you heard me--the long-standing complaint among senior associates and junior partners that they have no role in leading firms is going to radically change in the next few years. Take a look at the bios of the leaders in firms--that grey should be telling you something. That, coupled with several years of very healthy profits for equity partners (meaning less incentive to hang on and keep billing), and moreover combined with the heightened expectations of us all for long and fulfilling retirements, will all work together to create a single and compelling phenomenon: an impending tsunami of retirements that is going to rock the leadership of firms great and small. Click here if you don't believe me.

As the referenced article advises, most law firms are blissfully unaware of the potentially crippling effect of management ranks being felled through retirement. Those that can begin to plan ahead and really take stock of their intellectual capital (meaning of course their junior and mid-level partnership ranks) and begin to groom them for real leadership, will weather the storm. Those that won't will be scrambling to import high-ranking talent from other firms to bridge the gap.

The looming crisis could even be bad enough to force many more firms to adopt corporate-style leadership with true CEOs and all the rest (possibly even, gasp, non-attorney management!). It will be something to watch, believe me. It will also be a feeding frenzy in the recruiting world.

Mark my words, firms stuck in old-style, top-down management styles that don't account for the development and grooming of their talent are going to be in for a shock. Further, all these factors combined with the tendency even of current leadership to think only of their own careers with no regard for the future of firms, is going to mean huge opportunities for some--and yet further rounds of mergers. Also, even those firms that have been doing a good job at bringing up good talent are going to find even greater pressures in terms of retention--good leaders are GOING to be even more aggressively recruited.

The smart money is going to be on firms that combine solid retention strategies with agressive recruiting practices and close collaberation with professional headhunters.

Bright young partners be on notice: You may be far closer in line for the 'throne' than you think!

You heard it here first, folks!

Pete Smith, Esq.

BCG Attorney Search

Turning the Lights Out on Moonlighting

My colleague Pete Smith, from BCG's San Francisco office, warns of the perils of trying to moonlight when you work for a law firm. The key takeaway is that no matter what you do, make sure your firm is aware of your activities. I can't imagine that any law firm would care that you played in a rock 'n roll band during your off hours (as long as you are available to perform the work that the firm needs you to do.) But representing "Aunt Harriet" might be another story.

Temping in the Law

My colleague Danice Kowalczyk in BCG's New York office offers some interesting thoughts about when it makes sense to take a job as a legal temp. Temping has been around for a while now in the legal profession. Temping arrangements can be a win/win for firms who need to quickly build an army or fill an empty slot and lawyers who wants to work in the profession without the long hours and ongoing commitments that come with partnership track.

But it is a mistake to think that taking a temp job is an entree into a large law firm position. Over the years, I have spoken to a number of staff attorneys who are stuck in dead end positions doing document review.

On the other hand, temping can be a good foot in the door if the work is more substantive. This is more likely to happen at a smaller firm and more likely to occur if you seek out temp work directly through aggressive networking. Agencies may be able to find you work more quickly; but it is less likely to be substantive. This may not be a bad thing if you need to generate income. But as Danice nicely points out, it is important to know what you are getting yourself into.

"Sitzkrieg"--Why Lawyers Will Weather the Impending "Recession"

Immediately following the declaration of war against Hitler’s Germany in 1939, the uneasy populations of the allied nations went about their daily business; their lives as yet unchanged. In a gallows-humor attempt to explain this sudden onset, of, well, nothing particularly unusual, some cheeky Brit came up with the term “sitzkrieg”—the “sitting war” in contrast to Hitler’s “blitzkrieg”—“lightening war” against Poland. Of course, the “phony” war turned all too real soon thereafter, and lasted six years.

I couldn’t help think of the sitzkrieg as I sit here next to my three warm cats contemplating what many call inevitable, the first American economic recession of the 21st Century. It pains me even to mention such a possibility as I am: a) an incurable optimist; b) a shameless and blithe capitalist; and c) not an economist by any stretch of the imagination.

However, one can’t help but hear the voices that proclaim the impending doom of, not an economic implosion, but of a gradual slow-down of the steady growth we have been enjoying.

Of course, this will undoubtedly raise the issue of what impact the legal markets will face. It is nearly an aphorism that transactional work flowers during economic booms, and then wanes while litigation waxes during economic down-turns. It is certainly the case that the lateral litigation market has been lackluster after years of sustained growth. Thus, I will rush to be the first, perhaps, to proclaim the beginning of the end of this last long brush with bullish corporate practices. We no longer believe so innocently (as we did before 2001) that things that go up need never come down.

However, I don’t for one minute believe that this will be catastrophic for any solid corporate practice. It may merely result in allowing natural attrition to take its course. Further, it will only intensify the already tedious and long-drawn-out process that most lateral hiring is these days. Yet again, this is all the more to the good because I can assure you there has been little or NO frivolous or poorly-thought-out hiring going on, even in corporate circles. I do not see any widespread shrinkage in corporate groups looming on the horizon.

The result is that, as a profession, lawyers are going to ride out any impending “recession” that comes in the next 18 months, it one comes at all. The trick that I think most trained and traditional economic pundits are missing, is that the global economy has so much pent-up and ending demand for resources, that economic blips are being smoothed-out almost immediately. I liken this to the SF housing market. Whenever prices fall even by $5,000, as many more family can qualify to buy. What we end up with is, basically, is a stagnation or flattening of economic indicators. I don’t think that we can realistically call every loss of a point of annualized growth a “recession”. We perhaps need to go back to the well for a more descriptive neologism.

I’ll settle for an unending sitzkrieg.

A Lawyer Walks into a Bar

Last night, I attended the world premiere of a documentary called A Lawyer Walks into a Bar at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. A friend from UT Law School, Evan Fitzmaurice, is a producer on the movie. The documentary follows six wanna-be lawyers struggling to prepare for and actually taking the California Bar Exam, one of the most challenging bar exams with the lowest pass rate nationwide.

The packed theater was filled with many lawyers and non-lawyers who gave the film a rousing reception. This hilarious, emotional and compelling documentary features many noted attorneys such as Joe Jamail, Robert Shapiro, Alan Dershowitz, Nancy Grace, and Scott Turow, who all give their perspectives on practicing law as a profession. I hope the movie gets picked up by a distributor. Every person that's ever taken a bar exam will relate to the emotional roller coaster ride that these six people undertake. Keep an eye out for it- it's destined to be a hit among the legal crowd.

How to get a family-friendly position at a large firm

In the years that I have been engaged in legal recruiting, I have worked with several really top-notch female candidates that wanted to return to an exciting practice within a large firm after having a baby, but did NOT want the hours associated with a full-time partnership track position. I relate to these women who "want it all," for I myself want a rigorous and stimulating job, but also want to spend quality time with my child. It is a delicate balancing act.

For all of the media attention that the firms try to gain for proclaiming their family-friendly atmospheres, they rarely advertise part-time or reduced billable hour positions. These positions are usually found through back door methods (for example, a friend at a firm) and my experiences in placing these women have only confirmed my suspicions that female-friendly (i.e., family-friendly) large law firms are difficult to come by.

I have, in fact, placed and gotten offers for women with reduced work schedules. But the interview process is tricky. In order to successfully negotiate, these women had to interview as if they wanted a full-time position, then sit back and wait for an offer. Then once the offer was in hand, they negotiated their hours. Simply put, they had to make the firms believe they were indispensable before they showed all their cards.

Hillary Mantis at vault.com has some interesting thoughts on family-friendly options. I am also curious to hear from women who have successfully found family-friendly attorney positions after having a baby. Feel free to add your comments.

Wake Up! PPEP Matters!

I have to write this blog entry to get some of the angst out of my system. There is something very disturbing in "the force" going on, and I want to warn those complascent few to whom this piece is directed.

To cut to the chase, there is a certain class of high-caliber firm with (relatively) low PPEP that is lulling its associates into a false sense of security. That's a dangerous place to be. Okay, I'll back up.

Let's see if you can identify this firm or firms in your market: old, prestigious, PPEP below 900K, known for its brainiacs, fewer (sometimes far fewer) than 1000 lawyers, limited international presence. Okay. Do you have this firm in mind? Let me tell you what some associates in these firms are telling me. Number one, they are blithely unaware or unconcerned about trends in the market and smugly minimalist about firm 'platform'. They don't care about PPEP and figure they are making plenty of money anyway. They see the firm has having an historically consistent partnership track, regardless of proven potential to bring in business, and figure there are plenty of mediocre partners there so why won't they fit in when the time comes? These associates did well academically and have not had to change firms before. In short, if this were 1950, they would be fine.

Guess what? It is not 1950 and things have changed. Bottom line: if you want to stay standing still, you have to be running. If these associates are not interested in joining the global "megalomaniac" trends (not my word) of continual growth and continual expansion, are not interested in being psycho-marketeers and are not interestd in being high-octane megalomaniacs themselves, it is even MORE incumbant upon them to start working TODAY on building their books of business. That's because either their current firm is going to eventually phase them out (because it will have changed business models) or these associates will have to self-select out because the firm they know is going to jump on the global bandwagon.

Better minds than mine have been saying for a good few years now that the future of law firms (10-20 years) is a "global 20" that are "all things to all men." Basically, there is emerging a super-class of firms to stand in dominant positions for global work in the future--and all the good work in the near future is going to be global work and all the good "domestic" work will be done by these firms as well.

Your nice, white-shoe firm with half-a-dozen domestic markets and a marquee foreign outpost is either going to jump onto or rejoin the mega-merger mania, or it is going to subside into a regional (what we used to and sometimes do still call 'national') player. Basically, these firms will drift into a second or third tier within the first tier of firms. Are you feeling this yet?

Anyway, the advice to network, write, speak, and get noticed, and that consistently, applies to ALL attorneys wherever they are. It's just that maybe those not in the circumstances described above already knew that (and just aren't doing it). Those guys in the ivory-shoe tower just didn't think this applied to them. So now they know.

Do Not Drink the Kool-Aid!--A Wake-Up Call for Young Associates

There are lots of good reasons why forty-plus percent of fourth-year attorneys are in their second law firm. Personally, I've enumerated about a dozen categories of reasons that associates switch firms early in their careers, all of them reasonable. But the big three, and the ones many think are unreasonable or at least disadvantageous, are really the best reasons for leaving, and ones you should make sure don't apply to you if you are planning to stay put--especially as you allow the fourth and fifth years to roll by on your career clock. Bottom line: listen to your gut, even your flights of fancy, and especially the market. Don't "drink the Kool-Aid" by swallowing your own firm's marketing brochures. Be a careful and wary "partner" with your law firm.

Further, disregard the politically correct purveyors of "moderation" and "loyalty." These are good concepts in the abstract, but you have to know how to apply them appropriately. Let’s face it, firms certainly aren't out to get you, but they do see every single attorney (partners as well as associates) as a practice in and of itself, and someone (while hopefully integrated into the firm and "cross-selling") who is, if not expendable, then separable depending on the needs of the firm. You are an important cog, maybe, but still a cog. Realize that firms spend considerable resources determining which attorneys and groups remain within the "core competencies" of the firm (to say nothing of their respective impact on PEP at year-end). As such, you would be well-served to constantly make your own analysis of the fitness of your current firm. If one or more of the following three scenarios fits your circumstances, a switch may be what the doctor ordered: you want more money; you want to cleanse a less-than-picture-perfect early career; you have a strange itch to move that you can’t put your finger on. These reasons are not as crass and superficial as you may think--each is important on its face, but may also underlie latent analyses that you haven't taken the time to flesh out. I’ll be writing about each of these issues in the next couple of days—stay tuned!

Is your career on course?

If you are like most attorneys, the thought of planning your career past the next few months can be daunting. However, those that do plan their careers--and take the time to periodically evaluate whether they are on track--are much more likely to have a satisfying career.

Here's a recent article I wrote on this subject, which provides four quick questions you can ask yourself to determine whether your career is on track. http://www.lawcrossing.com/article/index.php?id=2356. I hope you enjoy.

The Allure of In-house

If you regularly speak to lawyers at large firms, you know that many plan to go in-house and become general counsel some day. The general perception is that going in-house offers better hours, more job security, a chance to earn a big pay out, an escape from time keeping and an opportunity to become part of "the team". It is doubtful that this perception will change any time soon.

But increasingly, we are seeing articles in the legal press that are debunking some of these myths. Today in Law.Com, for example, there a piece which highlights the growing risks associated with becoming general counsel. In a post Sarbanes-Oxley world, GC's are increasingly finding themselves targets of investigations.

Recently, I also published a two part article highlighting some of the pluses and minuses of going in-house.

I don't expect to see a fundamental shift in associate attitudes. It takes a long time to change perceptions. In a few years, however, I predict that fewer lawyers will be chasing in-house careers with the same zeal.

Are You Likeable?

Here is a test you can take! (Posted by JD Bliss.)

Surviving Merger Mania

Even if you work for a firm that is steadfast in its resolve to avoid a merger, "mergers happen". So how do you prepare yourself for (and protect yourself from ) some of the ways that a merger can adversely affect your career? A New York recruiter suggests that your focus should be on building relationships and making your mark through high profile work.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is as important to your success as a lawyer as your technical competance. Have you taken the time to assess your overall ability to work well with a diverse group of professionals? Altman Weil has some thoughts and a quiz.

Likeability and Retention

Can law firms increase associate retention by training partners in how to be more likeable? I frequently speak with associates who feel like a cog in a giant wheel. If they received more attention from the partners they serve, maybe I would get fewer phone calls. Does this mean that associates need to like the partners they work with? At the very least, it seems obvious that associates need to feel respected and need to respect the partners for whom they work. This would dramatically improve life in many law firms. Likeability would also help but I think that respect would solve 90% of the problem.

Dress for Success

BCG's CEO discusses the importance of dressing in a way that you want to be perceived. He argues that this is true for interviews as ordinary work days.

Being a "Go To" Lawyer

Are you a "go to" lawyer? Altman Weil thinks you should be and gives some tips on how to become one.

Lawyers and Risk Taking

Are lawyers risk averse by nature or through conditioning? Maybe a little of both. If you spend your day identifying risks for clients, it is only natural that you might become somewhat risk averse yourself. By the same token, risk averse individuals may be more likely to choose law as a profession (or at least be the ones who seem well suited to a legal career.)

A professional coach argues that in life, we feel most alive when we take risks. A good coach can help you with this if you are having difficulty taking risks in order to get yourself to the next career stage.

Beware of Personal Information on the Web

Beware of what you post on the Internet. More and more employers are googling job applicants as part of their due dilligence process. Do you really want a firm to know that you once ate a live mouse when you played with a heavy metal band?

Keeping Your Network Fresh

Most of us do not make our best decisions when we are under stress. If the demise of prominent firms like Testa Hurwitz teaches us anything it is this: keep up with you network outside of your firm. Don't wait until a stressful moment in the life of your firm to keep your contacts warm. Think about what you would do if you had to leave your firm. Don't wait until the decision is forced on you. You will be able to think more clearly if that stressful moment does ever come. Crisis is not the time to start planning out a "plan B".

How About a Don't Do List

Here's a novel concept. Keep a list of the things you shouldn't be doing. Get more done not by listing what you should do, but by listing those things which are to be avoided. I like it!

How to Be a Lousy Lawyer

Here are 7 good tips for being a bad corporate attorney.

Pay Attention to the Warning Signs

It is easy to ignore negative behavior during a job interviewing process. This is particularly true if a job seems like a great opportunity to develop new skills, work with certain choice clients or build your resume. But if an interviewer arrives late, has poor eye contact, takes phone calls during your interview, etc., don't expect life to get better once you start working there.

Confidence vs. Arrogance

There is a fine line between projecting confidence and projecting arrogance at a job interview. Here is some advice for graduating MBA's but it is relevant to attorneys as well.

Learning to Apologize

Some thoughts on something that is difficult for many lawyers: the act of contrition. For major mistakes, show up in person so that you can make use of your full arsenal of verbal and non-verbal communication tools.

Bad Performance Review?

Wait a few days before reacting to a bad performance review, even if you believe the assertions are invalid. Getting defensive and volitile on the spot is generally ineffective and likely to cause more problems. Here is a piece I wrote on the subject about 5 years ago.

Ending Relationships on a High Note

How you end relationships is just as important as how you cultivate on-going relationships. Go out on a high note because that is what people will remember (whether you are leaving a job, getting rid of a client, etc.)

Clarifying Your Work Assignments

David Maister offers some good questions to ask when receiving a work assignment.

The Importance of Developing a Niche

Here is a great article on the importance of developing a niche (with some quick suggestions on how to do it effectively.)

Project Confidence, Not Arrogance

Some more interviewing advice from CareerJournal.Com .

Barriers to Female Success in Law Firms

Lauren Rikleen, a Partner at Bowditch & Dewey, has published a new book on women and the law. (Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women's Success in the Law.) In it, Rikleen documents institutional barriers that women face in advancing in law firms. She offers practical suggestions to help law firms deal with the lack of female advancement in the legal profession. While I have not had the chance to read the book yet, I am expecting a great read. When Rikleen was President of the Boston Bar Association (19898-1999) she spearheaded a major research project on work/life balance in the law which resulted in a terrific report entitled “Facing the Grail – Confronting the Costs of Work/Family Imbalance” .

Rikleen's book was mentioned in this past Sunday's New York Times in an article on the same subject.

Hitching Your Career Wagon to a Star

There are advantages to building a strong relationship with a star at your firm. But there are also risks. What if the star leaves? What if the star is not that well liked by the other partners?

When it comes time to vote up or down on your partnership decision, wouldn't you be better off with a wide base of support?

Managing Our Business Relationships

David Maister suggests that we can find guidance for navigating difficult business relationships by thinking about our other relationships in life. If you are having trouble deciding how to deal with a difficult client, try thinking about how you would deal with this individual if he or she were a colleague, a friend or a relative.

Leadership vs. Management

Are you a leader in your law firm? What does it take to become a great leader? Here are some good thoughts on the subject.

Want Career Satisfaction? Keep Experimenting.

David Maister, a management consultant who has written a lot about professional services firms, has written a nice piece on career satisfaction. He argues that finding career happiness requires a lot of experimenting until you find the right mix. Along the way, there may be a lot of failure. But it is not perfection that drives success. It is resiliance (the ability to bounce back from failure) that is most important.

Communication is Not About You

Here are 13 reminders which will help you communicate more effectively with clients and opposing counsel.

Preserve Those Relationships When you Lateral

If you are making a lateral move, always do what you can to preserve your relationships at the employer you are departing. You never know how burning bridges can come back to haunt you. Similarly, you never know how maintaining old relationships may help you in the future.

How to Deliver Bad News

CareerJournal.Com offers some interesting ideas.

Look Before You Leap--With a Partner

It is very flatering to have a partner invite you to join him or her after she has decided to move to another firm. But it is important to do your own due dilligence about the firm and carefully consider the impact on your own career. In many cases, it will probably make sense to make the change. But sometimes your interests are not perfectly alligned with the partner. Career Journal talks about this issue in a general way (i.e. without referencing law firms per se.) But the advice is perfectly applicable.

Excelling at the Mundane

An article in CareerJournal.Com is a reminder that it is important to do a good job on your assignments--even if they are mundane. Junior associates can be tasked with some pretty uninspiring work. Most of us did not go to law school in hopes that someday we would be placed on a large due dilligence project. There is nothing glamerous about spending two weeks reviewing documents for a large anti-trust litigation. But it is still important to do your best on these assignments because senior associates and partners will be judging you and forming lasting first impressions. Do a good job and you will be rewarded with more interesting and challenging work; show a lot of attitude and you may soon be shown the door!

Developing a Backbone

Ellen Ostrow talks about why it is difficult for women to advocate for themselves in the workplace (and why it is critical to do so.) She offers some good tips for being assertive without becoming hostile.

Supervising Former Peers

Here is the link from my earlier post on how to supervise former peers. You don't need a WSJ subscription to read this version.

Learning to Be a Manager

Lawyers, like most professionals, receive little training in how to manage others. But even a junior associate has to know how to manage a secretary and delegate to paralegals. In today's edition, the WSJ observes (subscription required) that even in corporate America, soft skills training is often simply "trial by fire" or "on the job". Here are some of the most common mistakes that new managers make when they are suddenly placed in a position of authority. The article suggest that new managers err when they: (1) want to stay pals with former peers (2) assert authority too harshly (3) don't give a problem employee honest feedback (4) want to keep doing all the work themselves or (5) assume that employees know what they want without giving employees specific direction.

In a law firm partnership, the problem can be particularly bad since partners have limited authority over other partners at the firm. David Maister and Patrick McKenna have written an excellent book on the subject entitled First Among Equals. Here is my book review.

Leaving a Job w/Grace

What's the best way to leave a job you don't like? Hint: don't say f.u. to your boss even if you are thinking it. You may need him as a reference some day.

For lawyers, the benefits of a graceful exit extend beyond maintaining your references. Lawyers from prior firms can become good referral sources for conflicts work and matters that are not appropriate for the old firm.

Women Internalize Stereotypes of Themselves as Weaker Leaders

An article appeared in the WSJ on why 50.3% of all managers and professionals are female but women still comprise fewer than 2% of Fortune 1000 CEOs and just 7.9% of Fortune 500 top earners.

Carol Hymowitz of the WSJ reports that Catalyst (a women's leadership organization) analyzed more than 40 studies of men and women leaders, and found no real difference in leadership styles. Despite this reality, many women perceive themselves to be weaker leaders than men.

Don't Forget About Face Time w/Clients

A blogger reminds us (check 10/15/05 post) that face time is an important part of developing your client relationships .

Making the Most of Volunteer Activities

Volunteering is a great way to build potential business relationships and enhance your career (while feeling good about doing good.) Here are some good tips to help you get the most out of your volunteer efforts.

Tips for delegating

Ellen Ostrow, a career consultant in D.C. who does a lot of work with lawyers, publishes a career newsletter that is very good. You can read her archive on her website and subscribe for free for future issues. The latest issue has a very good article on delegating.

I didn't see the newsletter on delegating in her archives, yet, but I'm sure she would be happy to send it to you if you subscribe to her newsletter.