Author: Murray Gottheil

Bullies in the Boardroom

A children's ride in the form of a donkey.

In my 6^th year of practice, I represented an insolvent client in his negotiations with his Bank. The retainer came upon me suddenly as the client was summoned to a meeting with the Bank and its lawyers on virtually no notice and told to bring counsel.

I met the client for the first time just before the meeting, and off we headed downtown to meet with the Bank’s representatives and a senior insolvency lawyer at a large Toronto firm. I will call this lawyer Tom since I want to make it clear that he was an asshole, but I really do not want to be sued for writing this article. (Although I suppose that the risk of a successful lawsuit would be low since truth is a complete defense).

Tags bullying, lawyers, mental health, mentoring

Law Students and Young Lawyers

An Article About Articling Students

Post author By Murray Gottheil
Post date June 8, 2021
2 Comments on An Article About Articling Students

Young girls in traditional Peruvian costumes.

I write this from the perspective of retirement after having practiced law for four decades and having had what I believe was a successful career.

I articled in 1979 for the now defunct firm of Goodman & Carr which at the time was an excellent mid-sized Toronto law firm.

I was not a great articling student. What a ‘not great articling student’ does not need are some exceptional articling students to work alongside so that the comparisons are easy for everyone to make.

A Feminist Rant from an Old White Guy

Post author By Murray Gottheil
Post date June 5, 2021
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Erin Durant of Durant Barristers recently posted the following on LinkedIn:

“A pain point for women who create firms is the narrative that they have quit rather than have built something. I did not quit my practice. I took my practice and built something better for my clients. I agree with a mentor who says that male founders do not face that assumption.”

Tags biglaw, lawyers, mentoring, worklifebalance

The Practice of Law

The Sharp Employ The Sharp

Post author By Murray Gottheil
Post date June 1, 2021
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“The sharp employ the sharp; verily, a man may be known by his attorney.”

Douglas William Jerrold

Criminal lawyers are often required to represent those among us who are morally and ethically challenged. Their role as guardians of the rights of all of us is crucial to our democracy and their choice of clients does not usually reflect negatively on their character.

Tags attorneys, lawyers, mentoring, reputation

The Practice of Law

Is Your Lawyer Any Good?

Sign says: Hunters Please Use Caution When Hunting Pedestrians Using Walk Trails, suggesting poor drafting skills

It is a poorly kept secret in the legal profession that some lawyers are much better than other lawyers. Marketing would have you believe that the lawyers at large firms are better than lawyers at smaller firms, which is sometimes true and sometimes not true, and belies the fact that incompetence can hide in a crowd. Pity the poor clients who have to try to figure out how to choose the best lawyer to represent them based on who has the biggest marketing budget and the best marketing consultant.

Lessons from my Loony Early Days of Practice

Post author By Murray Gottheil
Post date May 25, 2021
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When I started practicing business law immediately after being called to the Bar, I had just been rejected for hire-back with the firm where I had done my articles. I was told that the reason that I was not hired back was that I had not shown sufficient self-confidence. Compounding my insecurity was the fact that I was younger than most first year lawyers, having entered law school after just one year of university. Worse still, I had no prior business experience.

Tags attorneys, lawfirms, lawyers, mentoring, new lawyers

The Mentality and Attitudes of Lawyers

What, Me Worry?

View from a cable car looking down a mountain suggesting fear.

In my first four years of practicing law, I learned how to be a lawyer through the “sink or swim” approach. I did this by working 12 hours a day and 6 ½ days a week, without supervision, mentoring or training. I was also worrying 24 days a day, 7 days a week, and waking up screaming at night. I do not recommend this approach to learning the practice of law.

Tags attorneys, lawfirms, lawyers, mental health, mentoring, stress

Legal Ethics

Ethics Matter, But Don’t Be Naive About It

Post author By Murray Gottheil
Post date May 13, 2021
2 Comments on Ethics Matter, But Don’t Be Naive About It

The author standing on a train track suggesting the danger of walking the ethical line.

In my first year of practice, a client asked me to advise him concerning his plan to build a sign for his restaurant. The sign was to sit at sidewalk level and would be 6 feet high and 20 feet long with flashing neon lights. It did not take long for me to determine that the sign would contravene the city’s by-laws and to tell him not to do it.

The client was furious with me. He angrily explained to me that it was not my job to give him business advice. In his mind, my role as the lawyer was simply to tell him what the law said and what the penalties were for breaking the law. It was his job to make the determination whether it was a good business decision to break the law.

That was my introduction to business ethics and how the practice of law fits in.

Tags attorneys, ethics, lawfirms, lawyers, mentoring

Law Firm Management

We Are All in This Together (Except When We Are Not)

Post author By Murray Gottheil
Post date May 9, 2021
1 Comment on We Are All in This Together (Except When We Are Not)

People with musical instruments in a canoes at sunset

In law firms, partners are represented by two separate yet equally significant groups. The innovative partners who drive the firms forward, and the old guard who advocate for the status quo to protect their incomes. These are their stories.

Lawyers are not generally known for their accounting expertise.

It is not that accounting concepts are too difficult for lawyers to learn. In fact, a lawyer can be a very quick study when working with accounting concepts which are relevant to their files.

The problem arises when it comes to matters which affect their own income. In these cases, lawyers tend to apply their creative talents and their persuasive skills to cloud the issues in their favour.