Boutique Law Firms, Small Law Firms

Beyond Biglaw: Your Captain Speaking

What pilots can teach lawyers about shepherding clients through a particular unfamiliar legal experience.

By  
on

Blank Lawyer Type Sign or Shingle.I have done more than my share of traveling lately, and when you are on your third or fourth late-night transcontinental flight in as many weeks, you start to notice things. Such as how different the airport terminals look when the daytime crowds have thinned out. Or how much a few inches of legroom really matter when you are trying to catch enough sleep to avoid being an incoherent mess the next day.

As a patent litigator who has practiced for about 15 years now, I have had plenty of travel along the way. But it is only on my most recent flight that I really focused on why the captain, or on occasion the first officer, deigns to address the souls on board with a message “from the flight deck.” While each pilot has their own style for making these announcements, ranging from the gruff to the exuberant and humorous, the timing and content are very much standardized for domestic flights. Accordingly, every air traveler has heard at least a variation of the routine.

First, there is an introduction by the pilot of the crew and the flight plan (weather, time to destination, etc.), usually given before embarkation from the gate. Then, there is a short update after takeoff, once the flight has reached cruising altitude. This second communication nearly always contains a promise for a third and final update “once we get closer to landing.” Invariably, the start of the descent to the destination is accompanied (or shortly preceded) by the promised final update of time and temperature at destination (along, of course, with a thanks for flying along with the airline and a hope for future business).

Other than being good business practice, and an attempt to personalize the airline that is looking to capture your hard-earned travel dollars in a competitive marketplace, it is not readily apparent what purpose these announcements serve. Leisure travelers may consider them a nice touch, while seasoned road warriors use them for the all-important calculation of when they will actually arrive at their final destination — whether that be a hotel room or home. You know you have spent too much time on a route when you groan when the pilot announces a “slow” flight time, even if that color is not provided with the announcement itself. Minutes count, and frequent travelers know to count their “door-to-door” travel time as the key metric of a smooth trip.

But seasoned travelers also know that almost everything about air travel is orchestrated. So there is a purpose to the announcements that I have come to appreciate. In fact, I think they provide lessons for lawyers who find themselves having to shepherd a client through a particular unfamiliar legal experience. In particular, it is worth focusing on the timing — usually at the points of a journey where a traveler may feel the most stressed or uncertain — and content of these pilot communications, and consider how they can help us as lawyers.

Timing first. At the outset of the journey, and even before it has really begun, the captain makes clear that he or she is in command, and coordinating a larger team dedicated to reaching the destination. Likewise, a lawyer will often have to reassure a client at the outset of a matter than everything is in place to achieve a successful result. Then, once the flight is underway, the captain returns to reassure everyone that everything is going to plan, and while they are free to relax, the flight crew is diligently plowing away at their jobs. Here again, a client-focused lawyer will look for opportunities during a matter to make sure everyone knows who is still in command, and that while the client may be free to focus on other things, they are always within the lawyer and his team’s sure hands.

Finally, there is a final check-in right before the goal is reached, again to reassure that the flight remains in good hands, and that the crew will be super-focused on literally sticking the landing. So too a lawyer needs to make sure the client feels secure right before a big court appearance, or deposition, or deal closing.

Sponsored

While the timing is important, it is also important to consider the content as well. While I mentioned that different pilots may employ different communication styles, the content of what they communicate is usually fairly uniform. What is striking is that the information conveyed is distilled down to its essence, even at the expense of sharing additional, but only tangentially relevant, information. For that reason, passengers are told how long the expected flight will be, but almost never what the actual flight path will be. Similarly, passengers are not bothered with details about baggage claim until the very end of the flight. In contrast, there are many more frequent communications about the conduct of the flight itself from the flight attendants. Here, the lesson is clear. The leader only communicates when and if necessary. As lawyers, particularly when dealing with sophisticated clients, this can be a hard skill to master. But it is well worth the effort.

Finally, there is usually one other time that passengers hear from the pilot. Hopefully not too often, since the other time pilots make announcements is when there is a delay. Here, the lesson is obvious. The leader takes responsibility, even when circumstances are outside his or her control. When things are not going as planned, it is the captain who has to provide the updates, and keep everyone informed, even when solutions are not readily apparent. Lawyers who aspire to leadership roles would do well to remember that lesson.

Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.

Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique. The firm’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.

Sponsored

Topics

, , , , , , , ,