How do you practice law?

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E. John Buzza

It’s 4:50 on Friday afternoon when your fax machine churns out three motions from the opposition on the Jones bankruptcy file, all noticed for expedited hearing next week. You turn to your legal assistant with that familiar I-need-you "look" and ask her to stay past 5:00 to work on your opposing objections and affidavits. While avoiding her return "look," the two of you grind out the required pleadings. By 6:30 that evening, your assistant faxes the finished product to the opposition and volunteers to drive the filing copies to the post office. You thank her, but forget to apologize for, yet again, delaying dinner plans with her not-so-happy spouse.

Yes, this is the same legal assistant who covers your telephone calls with excuses of "He’s in court," when you are on the golf course, who puts up with your mood swings on those days when you face multiple deadlines, and who can’t remember the last time you complimented her work product or value to your law practice. If you see yourself in a similar scenario more often than not, perhaps, you are in danger of losing both your enjoyment of the practice and a very capable assistant.

In the business of law, last-minute deadlines may be unavoidable. But each of us has the ability to manage effectively our legal business. While stress in the workplace may be an unavoidable aspect of our practice, enthusiastic assistance from a functioning, invigorated support staff can go a long way in reducing that stress level. The way we practice law has a lasting impact on our partners, associates and support staff.

I recall the story of a new law student asking his professor, "How long will it take to master the practice of law?" "How long do you expect to live?" was the terse response provided by the learned professor.

The practice of law is the path of knowledge. A day in a law office is a dynamic place with its ups and downs, its challenges and stress, its surprises, disappointments and unconditional satisfaction. While traveling the path, we get our share of jolts and dips, but it can be a most satisfying experience when we are committed to the practice.

Here’s a secret: Lawyers we know as masters of their craft don’t devote themselves to their practice just to get better at it. They love to practice law, and as a result of this, they do get better. Our commitment to the practice is evidenced by the way we value and treat our people (clients, partners, associates and support staff). We don’t sell products; we deliver services to people. Staying on the path of practice and achieving any modicum of knowledge requires an ever-present awareness of the people with whom we work. With that awareness, we become a key player in the process of invigorating our staff.

Consider the following steps in a path of knowledge — a path to improving your law practice and invigorating your entire support staff.

Provide top-notch instruction to your support staff. Often, we assume incorrectly our staff is fully cognizant of all the nuances of word processing and database software. In fact, most software is underutilized. All those bells and whistles of promised productivity designed by teams of engineers often remain unused if our staff is not provided adequate instruction, or periodic training is ignored.

Similarly, if you want your legal assistant to be a knowledgeable self-starter in your real estate practice, send the assistant to one or more continuing education seminars sponsored by the ABA, the State Bar of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Realtors or a host of other CLE providers.

Develop the skills, confidence and happiness of your support staff by holding weekly one-hour, in-house training sessions led by a knowledgeable instructor. Be sure one or more attorneys attend those in-house development sessions.

Practice. One version of an old joke finds some Chicago Cubs fans lost on their way to a game in Milwaukee. They stop to question a local. They ask, "How do you get to Miller Park?" "Practice!" he tells them.

To achieve a skill, to improve yourself, to make money, you practice. But think of practice as a noun instead of a verb. If your practice is more than a collection of clients and more than a way of making a living, it will become the practice of a lawyer on the path of knowledge.

If you allow your support staff to participate in the delivery of legal services, they, too, will value your law practice as their practice. Each time you verbalize a job well done and pay a compliment to your assistant or an associate, he or she will gain a sense of identity with and pride in your practice.

Become aware of your staff. To engage in any significant new learning, you need to embrace the spirit of the beginner. This means, as attorneys fully committed to the practice, we park our egos from time to time and become a student of our staff. So engaged, we listen to and value their comments and suggestions. We ask questions.

Consider the story of two very capable lawyers, Bill and Jack.

Bill was a trial lawyer who immersed himself in each client’s case. In the days of office preparation for a case, Bill tirelessly burned the midnight oil and expected his support staff to do the same. Bill was condescending to his staff and would not acknowledge their personal achievements, needs or lives. Although Bill rarely lost a case, he rarely kept a legal assistant longer than six months.

Jack’s approach was different. Without a hint of pretension, he showed more respect for his support staff than any lawyer in the office. Jack was aware of everything going on around him. Jack rarely lost a case. His personal legal assistant had worked with him for over 30 years, and beyond the normal age of retirement.

If we regularly walk around the halls of our offices oblivious to all but the case in which we are currently engrossed, we will miss daily opportunities to improve our practice and our law firm.

Embrace change.
At times, all those computers, fax machines, cell phones and pagers seem more like weapons of mass destruction rather than productivity. Poster board charts or PowerPoint presentation? While, even today, the paper chart may be the right graphic tool for presentation of a particular fact, you can’t ignore emerging technology as a means of effective communication to a generation of jurors schooled on video games and computer-generated images.

Change is inherent to the practice. Putting change into your practice is a balancing act. It demands the awareness to know when you are pushing yourself beyond your ability to effectively function as a lawyer and a law firm. The trick here is to test change before embracing it. For example, do you need document management software? Do you know what document management products are available for the legal industry? Where do you find these answers? Start with your staff. Determine their knowledge of this type of software, what it can do, and if it might be desirable. Find out the experience of other law firms with this type of software.

What about change in your office environment? When was the last time you held an all-staff firm retreat? Have you recently (ever?) sent out a legal services satisfaction survey to your clients? Would you change your work habits based on feedback from clients?

If change in your office meets great resistance, perhaps it’s either a tremendously bad idea or a tremendously good idea. With new technology or other changes, you might find resistance from partners and support staff. Be willing to negotiate resistance to change. If you provide your staff with the time and opportunity to learn about proposed changes, you will either get meaningful feedback on why some new digital e-mail sender will not work in your practice or find a staff member willing to test the technology before embracing the same.

Conclusion

If you think you simply don’t have the time to change your law practice, consider the old adage that if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it. You can bring enjoyment to your practice, improve office morale, and energize your support staff if you get on the path of knowledge and stay on it.

E. John Buzza is a practicing attorney and president of the Stevens Point law firm, First Law Group S.C. He concentrates in business acquisitions and divestitures, real estate developments, financing facilities, corporate law and nonprofit organizations. He holds bachelor’s and Juris Doctor degrees from Marquette University, and he is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and American Bar Association and their Law Practice Management, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, and Business Law Sections. Buzza can be reached at [email protected] or (715) 341-7855.