“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
Peter Drucker
Back when I was a Managing Partner in a law firm, I did not think nearly enough about law firm culture. I really should have, but not only because it is the secret to business success. No, I should have thought more about firm culture because it is a crucial factor in whether or not lawyers are happy in their jobs, and as we all know, many of them are not very happy.
I am retired. I did not have a vote in the last Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) election, at which party politics showed up for the first time.
Although I did not have a horse in the race, I did follow the nastiness from afar. Various candidates were not satisfied with debating ideas. They found it necessary to vilify their opponents.
Many new lawyers start their own practices soon after graduation or join firms that offer little mentoring or training. I attribute this to a number of factors, including the law firm model falling into disfavour over issues of work/life balance and mental health, and prejudice encountered by internationally trained lawyers.
One of the values that drove me for a good long time was the importance of working hard and generating many billable hours.
I have concluded that there are three reasons that many lawyers work long hours. Some do it to serve their clients well. Others do it because they are workaholics. And finally, there are those who work all of the time because they are ambitious and they want to earn a lot of money. What all of these lawyers have in common is that they all believe that working hard will make them happy. It does not seem to work for many of them.
Tali Green recently (sarcastically)asked the following question on LinkedIn: “Are lazy and sub-par juniors contributing to the mental health crisis in the legal profession?”
Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?
Groucho Marx
I am a great fan of the institution of marriage. (Second marriages actually, but that would make for a much longer post.)
Anyone who has been married understands the concept of ‘institutional memory,’ which encapsulates your spouse’s recollection of why you were wrong before, are wrong now, and will likely be wrong in the future.
By the time that I figured out that I could no longer cope with the pressures of the legal profession and that something had to give, I had been practicing business law for thirty-three years. What can I say… I am a slow learner. It took me almost another seven years to get out. I escaped with my health intact, but just barely.
I speak to a number of newly called lawyers looking to secure a job as an associate.
I tell these applicants that they should be ready to answer a question about business development. Here are my tips:
For years I delegated work to Mindy, who was very competent, productive, generous, and warm.
I never knew when I walked into Mindy’s office to ask her to do something whether she would be her usual lovable self or would bite my head off.