When I had been practicing for about six years, I attended a meeting with two more senior lawyers to pitch a potential client on leaving a Big Law firm and coming to our mid-sized suburban firm. The other two were: (1) Sam, who was our managing partner, very business savvy, and a great marketer; and (2) Chuck, who was the senior corporate lawyer and also a great marketer. My late father would have described him as, “all flash, no cash.” Poor Chuck was an administrative disaster and despite his intelligence, a truly awful lawyer.
Chuck and Sam brought in the file. All I knew was how to do the legal work, so I contributed little to landing the client.
For the film buffs, Bill Murray made the phrase, “it just doesn’t matter” famous in the movie Meatballs.
It is interesting to think about what matters most in a law firm. If Newbies cannot do it all without all of it doing them in, what should they focus on? Which things just don’t matter?
Here is what I imagine Newbies think is important, ranked in order:
1. Knowing the law.
2. Drafting skills or presentation skills, depending on the practice area.
3. Client management.
4. Recording time.
5. Sending out invoices.
6. Collecting receivables.
And here is what I think is important, again ranked in order:
1. Recording time.
2. Developing self-confidence.
3. Knowing the law.
4. Bringing in business.
5. Client management.
6. Drafting skills or presentation skills, depending on the practice area.
7. Sending out invoices.
8. Collecting receivables.
A few notes about my suggested order of things:
1. The only reason that I put “recording time” first is that if you do not do that, law firms will not keep you around long enough to do the other things.
2. I would have put “bringing in business” second, but it is difficult to do that without having some self-confidence and knowing a bit of law, so it gets pushed down to fourth.
My conclusion from all of this is that, strange as it may seem, a lawyer who is good at bringing in business but bad at doing legal work can thrive in the legal profession. However, a lawyer who is good at doing legal work and bad at attracting clients, is going to struggle.