We have all seen the movie- good, bad, or indifferent. Something out of the ordinary happens in a trial or legal setting and one attorney turns to the other and says matter-of-factly "They didn't teach us that in law school." It all ends in a quick chuckle. Good filler, but hat line is not so funny when it is being uttered by a young attorney when he is approached by firm leadership regarding the ability- or inability to develop his own clients when consideration for partnership becomes a factor.
Since the economic downturn of ' 07-09, the legal landscape has changed and in particular firms have been asking for and putting value on added skill set of an associate's ability, or potential ability to develop, build and nurture a client base. Unfortunately, for some reason, far too many attorneys haven't gotten that memo.
As a recruiter I engage in conversations with a several attorneys on a weekly basis. As I speak to these attorneys and potential candidates, many reasons are given for why they are exploring career options. In the last four years, one of the most common, if not the most common reason given to me by attorneys who are at year nine and beyond is "My firm is changing its business model." on the surface it sounds very general but with in a few questions what I already know is usually confirmed. This person is a senior associate or partner that has very little or no originated business and their law firm is putting the squeeze on them to start developing business or they will be in danger of being let go.
The issue here is that this attorney has spent the last ten years of his legal career depending servicing the practices of others. Now this attorney has become too expensive, drawing a too high of a salary to just be servicing the business the others bring in. The time has come for her to begin pay for herself- and this attorney has no clue how to do so.
A few months ago I sat with the Miami office managing partner of a global firm and in our conversations he expressed to me how he was perplex that so many mid-level and senior attorneys had no idea how important it was to develop business and build their own book. When I asked have you expressed to the attorneys upon hire that this is a very important skillset that they should develop to be successful? His response was " This is something that attorneys should know once they enter a firm. The importance is present in front of them daily. For someone to not know this by year six or seven is a total lack of awareness."
I could not argue with that. Yet, I still have several conversations a month where a candidate tells me. "I don't want to develop business. That's not what I do." My common response is that it's what you need to start doing if you want a lengthy and stable legal career. I can't even begin to tell you the number of "partner level" who are out on the street looking for a firm, or those who are currently at a firm but unhappy and in limbo because they have no or a very insignificant portable book of business. Far too many attorneys fail to grasp the importance of developing their own business and thus increasing their value in the career marketplace. It's a tough conversation explaining to someone that in many ways they have made themselves expendable. The following are the reasons why I stress to these candidates on why developing business is so important:
When you develop business you can set yourself for a position of leadership within your firm. Young associates please take a careful look around your firm and try and count how many attorneys in your firm that do not have a significant book of clients hold a substantial position of leadership in your firm? How many of these attorneys are making the game changing decisions. If there were many, your firm would not be "changing its business model." Law firms, no matter how idealistic we all were about the law coming out of law school, are a business. Not unlike so many other organizations, those who posses the ability to bring the most profit to the company hold the most influence. This is why the partner with the three million dollar book is given the more autonomous latitude than that guy whose been at the firm for twenty years and only services the work of others. If you have a desire for firm leadership; If you want to be considered valuable to your firm; If you want to help dictate firm policy- you have better have a book worth listening to.
In a crisis market, you can save yourself. If history has taught us anything its to be prepared. When 2008 hit and the mass layoffs led to a market flood of partner level attorneys with no client base, one trend we did notice was law firms willingness to hold on to and gamble on those partners who may have lost the actual fee generation but had a track record of or displayed a strong future potential to develop business. These attorneys were allowed to stay and wait out the downturn and even had the option to work on the matters of attorneys who had not been as affected by the crisis. Those who can hunt will be the last one's thrown from the village.
Another often overlooked advantage to developing your own client base is the ability to be mobile with your practice. Let's not sugar coat it. Things happen. A firm doesn't have flexible rates, has adverse political ties, doesn't have the proper resources to cross-service etc...These are the issues that arise for attorneys and their practice. These are the issues that often times force attorneys to look for an alternate platform. Competing firms want and need these attorneys who may be able to diversify or strengthen the firms service groups. Those with a book, in particular a significant book will always hold the flexibility to be able to explore alternate platforms or negotiate a better situation for themselves at their current firm. Kelsey Grammar continues to have options for television shows, George Wendt- not so much.
Stay valuable to your firm, position yourself for leadership and develop and maintain the ability to be mobile of the need arises. This is what should be taught in a seminar for third year law students who dare enter the world of Biglaw. Make yourself valuable so that you don't regret going to law school ten years after the fact when you are out on the street with no firm because your cost outweighs your value. Take control. That's what they didn't teach us in law school.
