| March 2010 | e-Newsletter |
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Feature Article: Feeling a Bit Out of Control? Welcome to Law—and Life
by Julie A. Fleming
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Are lawyers, as a group, a class of control freaks? And if we are, what does that mean for practice and for "civilian life"? I came up with three observations.
- Successful lawyers know that they'll find themselves out of control at some point, and they know how to recover. A client told me a story about a lawyer who was taking a case to trial. He'd won partial summary judgment, so the trial was limited to a single issue of liability and damages—Or so he thought, until the court opened the trial by reversing the grant of summary judgment and announcing that trial would proceed immediately on all issues. He had a good team of junior lawyers and a paralegal with him, and he revised his opening statement while the team revised their trial strategy. Several steps allowed him to excel in an out-of-control situation.
- He accepted the situation on its face (as unpalatable as it was) and moved forward. When it was apparent that the court intended to proceed right away, the lawyer set aside his outrage and moved to what he could control: the presentation of his newly defined case. Had he distracted himself by composing the appellate brief in his head, there's no way he could have performed well.
- He relied on the input of others. While lead counsel generally sets the course of a representation, this lawyer was able to get the ideas and input from every member of the team. That's the benefit of having top-notch professionals as colleagues and team members: when you really need to rely on them, those relationships must already be in place.
- He requested time to regain some measure of control. Although the 1-week continuance was denied, the court agreed to giving him two hours. He spent the first part of that time making the strategic decisions that made him master of his newly defined case.
- Successful lawyers know when and how to loosen the reins. Lawyers who don’t delegate well tend to fall into one of two traps: either they fail to provide sufficient information to guide the performance of the work and get back imprecise results or a product that doesn't meet their needs, or they over-describe, micromanage, and rework the finished product because they believe no one can do the work as well as they can. Knowing when to accept work performed in a different, but equally effective style, is a key skill.
- Successful lawyers understand that control is, in many ways, an illusion to be held lightly. Whether in a professional or a personal setting, control is often illusory. For instance, if you're afraid of flying, you may feel safer because you're in control while driving, even though studies show that flying is safer—and even though we all know intuitively that controlling the wheel won't always provide safety. In the practice context, "control" over a book of business is important for professional advancement, but that control lasts only as long as the clients are satisfied. Personally, we can control nothing except ourselves, and even that's a dicey proposition at times. Being in control, then, is actually a delicate balance that requires attention and adjustment.
Control is often a topic in coaching. The questions I pose to clients and now offer for your consideration: Are you really in control of this situation? In what ways are you not in control? And what’s the impact?
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Julie A. Fleming, J.D., A.C.C. provides attorney development coaching and consulting to law firm associates and partners, focusing on topics such as leadership, client, and professional development; career strategy; and work/life integration. A certified leadership coach (Georgetown University), Julie publishes the weekly email newsletter Leadership Matters for Lawyers and posts often on the Life at the Bar Blog. Learn more at www.LifeAtTheBar.com or by contacting Julie by telephone at 800.758.6214 or by email to jfb@lifeatthebar.com.
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Cartoon: Stu's Views
by Stu Rees
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©Stu Rees. All rights reserved.
click here to enlarge
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
Questions about ordering greeting cards from The Billable Hour Card Store? Check out our greeting card FAQs.
Did you know that Stu licenses his artwork for use in newsletters, presentations, print publications and on websites? He even offers special rates for student and teacher use.
You can also purchase original artwork and custom prints (framed or unframed) from Stu.
Timesheet readers get 15% off all licensing orders, original artwork and custom prints (use coupon code BILLHOUR). Click here for information on licensing or purchasing Six Trusts, other trusts and estates cartoons, or any of the hundreds of images Stu offers. For more information on original artwork and custom prints, click here.
Cartoon: Courtoons
by David Mills
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Courtoons are the creation of David Mills, an Ohio appellate lawyer who works with litigants and law firms involved in civil and criminal cases in federal courts across the country. Visit David's law firm website at www.MillsFederalAppeals.com
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Video of the Month: Being a Lawyer
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Here's one that everyone who just took the bar exam should relate to:
To watch more hilarious law-related videos from around the web, join us at The Video Venue!
Lawtoons
by Suzan Charlton, Esq.
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click here to enlarge (large file; please be patient)
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
Suzan Charlton is a professional cartoonist who is rumored to practice insurance coverage law as a hobby for a major Washington D.C. law firm. Her cartoons cover a wide range of law-related topics, from law school grades to law firm romance.
Song of the Month: That's Litigation!
by Dan Klau
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(To the tune of "That’s Entertainment")
(Original music and lyrics by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz)
(sample)
Available on The Billable Hour Blues
The perp, who’s the client from hell.
But who cares, ‘cause his money is swell.
While he does time, you’ll write your own "kiss and tell."
That’s litigation!
The judge, who can’t make up his mind,
The eyewitness, who turns out to be blind,
The hung jury, can’t get out of its bind.
That’s litigation!
The man on the stand who just lies through his teeth.
The judge wearing robes but nothing underneath.
What will the jury bequeath?
By the time the trial’s over, you’ll be pushing up clover.
The case, that just won’t go away.
It’s been yours, for ten years everyday.
Will it end? Not if the client will pay.
The court is a stage, lawsuits are the rage.
That’s litigation!
Just one of the hilarious songs on
Cartoon: Law and Disorder
by Paul Brennan
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Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
Cartoon: Jonny Hawkins Collection
by Jonny Hawkins
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©Jonny Hawkins. All rights reserved.
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
Questions about ordering greeting cards from The Billable Hour Card Store? Check out our greeting card FAQs.
Did you know that Jonny licenses his artwork for use in newsletters, presentations, print publications and on websites? He even offers special rates for student and teacher use.
You can also purchase original artwork and custom prints (framed or unframed) from Jonny.
Timesheet readers get 15% off all licensing orders, original artwork and custom prints. Click here for pricing information. You can reach Jonny at jonnyhawkins2nz@yahoo.com.
Litination: Associate to Second-Chair Conference Call
by Court Jester
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For the first time since he joined Baker Botts two years ago, associate Paul Wilmore has a pretty important meeting on his Outlook calendar. This afternoon, sixth-year associate Jason Moon has asked Wilmore to second-chair a conference call with an employee at firm client Tycoon Products. Baker Botts has been defending products liability lawsuits against Tycoon related to its weight loss pill "Metabozilla" since early 2007 and Wilmore has been part of "Team TP" since he billed his first minute at the firm.
"Team TP" is in many respects a small law firm. Baker Botts has three senior partners, two junior partners, six associates, and two paralegals working on the Tycoon Products defense. Since Baker Botts adheres to the "substantive work goes to the highest biller" model, Wilmore's tasks have consisted almost entirely of document review and memos summarizing deposition transcripts. Not surprisingly, Wilmore has never interacted with anyone at Tycoon. One time, a partner on the case emailed that Tycoon's General Counsel was coming to the firm, but somehow there wasn’t enough time in the day to bring him by Wilmore’s interior office for a meeting.
Today, Wilmore will probably not even get introduced on the call, but he will hear something first-hand for the first time. According to one of Wilmore's colleagues, "he's got a little bit more of a bounce in his step today. I mean it's not every day that an associate get this close to the client. It shows the partners have confidence that he won't blow the situation by . . . well, hmm, how could he blow that situation? Maybe they just don't want too many people to realize how it's not that hard to talk to clients?"
When we reached Wilmore minutes before the call, he seemed ready to go. "I have several pens and a notepad ready so that I can take some seriously detailed notes today," he explained energetically. "I'll probably have to cancel my dinner plans tonight too because I want to turn around the interview summary memo fast." When we questioned Wilmore on whether he anticipates actually speaking on the call, he just looked back blankly—"You do realize I work at Baker Botts, right?" And then he hung up. Guess his phone skills do need some work.
Court Jester is a member of the Litination who believes that the practice of law requires a sense of humor. His goal is to provide an entertaining diversion from the regularly scheduled billable hour or law school seminar. He provides fake legal news and links to real headlines at www.Litination.com. His hope is that one or the other will provide you with a laugh in an often unnecessarily stressful day.
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