An important element of a law firm’s culture is the manner in which it designates ‘client lawyer’ status, or ‘client origination credits’ (“OCs”).
By way of background, there are three ways to earn money in a law firm.
Those of my era may remember the comic book character known as “Richie Rich.” Nice little kid, but being brought up by wealthy parents, he was not on the same wavelength as some of his friends.
My friend Stan had a law partner who was kind of like a wannabe Richie Rich. He wasn’t rich yet, but by God he planned to be!
Last week I was at the Barnstable County Fair in Cape Cod. At the midway, there was a game called “Dunk the Clown.” Let me describe it for you.
A clown sat on a ledge over a tank of water. People paid a few dollars and received three baseballs to throw at two large buttons on the walls adjacent to the clown. If a button were hit, the clown would fall into the water.
Whoever Dies With The Most Stuff Wins
–David Mitchell
The other day someone asked me why so many lawyers work excessive hours on the road to mental and physical health issues, divorce, and addiction.
The answer is simple. It is greed.
“Youth is always impatient, even though, ironically, youth alone has time for patience.”
Lucilla Andrews
In my new pastime as a cynical commentator on aspects of the legal profession which I whole-heartedly embraced and profited from for many years, I speak to quite a few folks at the early stages of their careers. I try to think back to when I shared their enthusiasm and optimism, but frankly it was way too long ago.
The image that accompanies this post is of a massive tree in the forest behind my house which came down in a storm, bringing down another tree, which brought down a third. As you can see, the root system was wide, but shallow.
These trees might have looked majestic, but when force was applied, their roots proved to be too weak to hold up their weight.
I was speaking to a university student the other day who I will call Lara. Lara told me that she occasionally has a super nice dinner at her friend Kim’s expense.
It seems that sometimes Kim meets a Sugar Daddy who treats her to a nice meal at a fine restaurant. Kim is just a little bit nervous about meeting strange men for dinner, so she has Lara come to the restaurant, sit at a nearby table, and keep an eye on her.
Now and then I will tell a story about something that I did back in the day when my wife Maureen and I practiced at the same law firm. Typically my story involves a brilliant legal strategy that I developed, a big win, and a grateful client.
Occasionally Maureen will observe, “how quickly my good idea becomes your great idea.” Her point, I guess, is that she was the brilliant one and I just took her idea and ran with it. It could have happened that way. It was a long time ago and it really is not in my interest to remember the details that clearly.
“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”
Joseph Heller
In some law firms there are politics among the Partners. Someone wants to be the managing partner or to win the compensation committee contest, and they need to win friends and influence people to get what they want.
I know, I know. You cannot believe it. This may be true in other firms, but certainly not in your firm.
In your firm, all of the Partners respect each other and support each other. They never talk behind each other’s back. They are hard on the issues and soft on the people. They certainly do not form cliques, count votes, or solicit support between meetings to win votes at the Compensation Committee or the Executive Committee.
I like orange popsicles. The cherry flavoured ones are also okay. The grape flavour is terrible. This is one of the few topics upon which everyone in my household agrees.
It is really hard to find a box of only orange popsicles. Trust me, I have looked. So, we always end up buying a box which contains all three flavours. Eventually our freezer becomes full of grape popsicles that nobody wants and we throw them away to make room. It is a waste of money and not that great for the environment.