Charisma: The Quintessential Leadership Skill
Charisma separates great leaders from good ones.
The Path to Partnership in Small to Mid-sized Firms
If you are a partner in a U.S. law firm with fewer than 200 lawyers, think for a moment of how your current group of senior associates with eight to nine years of experience got to the brink of partnership. Then reflect on who their contemporary associates were at five years of experience. Many will […]
Tailored Talent Supervision
While working with counsel at a top global firm recently, I asked them: “What is your best tip for supervising associates?” I received some terrific ideas, but one that stood out was this from a transactional lawyer: “I ask them what they need from me.” This counsel had turned the normal supervision wisdom upside down. […]
Succession Doesn’t Just Happen
“We need a succession plan. My partners and I formed this firm thirty years ago. We started with clients aplenty, and spent the early and middle years – in fact, up until a few years ago – tasking younger partners to service the business we already had through the impressive rainmaking skills of the founding […]
Empathy: Your Competitive Edge
Empathy, the identification with, or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another, enables us to deeply experience another’s situations and emotions. Most importantly, empathy can enable us to discover creative solutions and to provide unique, personal service to our clients . Developing your ability to empathize not only enables you to attract […]
How to Control the Room: 7 secrets to being successful in every meeting
Careers can be made or broken in meetings. Here is how to become one of the best speakers in every meeting and distinguish yourself amongst your colleagues. 1. Say less – say it better. A good presentation is like a Scotsman’s kilt; short enough to be interesting, long enough to cover the essentials. Remember you […]
Re-booting a Skill Set: Remembering that the law is still a valuable source of information
I re-booted a neglected skill set last week — reading the law. Like many senior lawyers or lawyers in consulting or administration, we don’t read the law very often. Unless you are a litigator at the point of trial or motion preparation, someone else is reading and summarizing the law for you. Exercising this flabby […]
Utilizing Summit Meetings for Integration: An Interview with Don Boyd
Don Boyd is the Executive Chairman of the Australian-based group of worldwide Deacons offices. Don instituted four days of summit meetings that he conceived of to kick off the practice management and firm leaders of their newly-integrated firm. We’ll let him tell you about the successful impact those meetings had on the new firm structure… […]
The Leading Question of Learning.
Many people seem to think that skills such as management and leadership cannot be learned; you are either born with them or not. This article examines the case for management and leadership training in Professional Service Firms. I had a Partner once who firmly believed that all leadership and management abilities are a matter of […]
Mind Your Own Business! Manage Your Law Practice Like a Corporation
There is only one line that stands between you and phenomenal success — it separates action from inaction. By considering yourself in all the senior executive roles in managing your practice, you will optimize satisfaction and income. Position: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Function: Creating a vision for the personal practice that fits with the firm’s […]