Years ago, an opponent accused one of my partners of having misled a court when my partner applied for permission to appear in a case pro hac vice.
I knew that my partner had done nothing wrong. My partner was the most honest, careful person you could imagine. It was inconceivable that he had broken any rule.
A few years later, a disciplinary authority accused a different one of my partners of having practiced law without a license. (The accusation wasn’t that he was entirely unlicensed, but that he had moved from an office in one state to an office in another, and for years hadn’t bothered to get licensed in the new state.)
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That guy had probably done it. He’d never done anything responsible before in his life; why should he have started now?
See how trust matters?
Recently, Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew were both accused of having sex with a minor.
Did Dershowitz do it?
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Did Prince Andrew?
See how reputation matters?
Assume that any politician is accused of sexual or financial misconduct.
Did he do it?
Isn’t it a shame that an entire class of people — an important class — has lost the public trust?
How does this matter to a lawyer?
As an associate, I occasionally screwed things up. And this was almost never held against me: “Herrmann‘s a competent guy who does good work. Anyone can make a mistake.”
As a partner, I occasionally screwed things up. And this was almost never held against me: “Herrmann‘s a competent guy who does good work. Anyone can make a mistake.”
As an in-house lawyer, I occasionally screw things up. This hasn’t (yet) been held against me: “Herrmann‘s a competent guy who does good work. Anyone can make a mistake.”
I’ve seen others make precisely the same types of mistakes and pay for those errors dearly: “Falstaff didn’t see how to make that payment tax deductible? That’s classic! Has that moron ever done anything right in his life?”
“Flashman didn’t tell us about that Ninth Circuit case? You can’t trust anything that idiot does!”
Perhaps it’s unjust that people react so differently to identical mistakes, but I guarantee you they do.
What’s the lesson?
Reputation — trust — matters.
When you start a new job, be exceptionally conscientious. Your first few projects will establish your reputation. If your reputation is good, that will cover a host of later sins. If your reputation is bad, you may never recover from your slow start.
(A couple of light years ago, I moved from a small (20-lawyer) firm in San Francisco to a huge (then-1,000-lawyer) firm in Cleveland as a sixth-year associate. I was trying cases and arguing appeals at my small firm and fully expected to see my career blown back into the Stone Age as a result of the move. One of my first assignments at the new place, sadly but predictably, was to write a research memo. So I wrote a research memo the likes of which no one had seen before. Two partners called independently to tell me that this was the best research memo they’d seen in their lives. Presto! I was instantly taking depositions instead of writing research memos.
So far as I know, the client never complained that I may have taken a little too long to prepare that first memo. In any event, it didn’t matter: My reputation was at stake, so the memo had to be right. And, when firms are evaluating people for partnership, I never heard anyone say, “Stoner takes a little too long to do his work.” But I heard many people say, “Stoner is unbelievably smart. He catches issues that I miss. We absolutely must make this person a partner.”)
When you work under the supervision of a new person, be exceptionally conscientious. That new person is judging you, and you want that person to conclude (incorrectly, of course) that you never make mistakes.
If you’re thinking of changing jobs voluntarily, think long and hard before jumping ship. You’ve spent years (or decades) at your current institution, developing a reputation that precedes you. If everyone thinks that you’re “scary smart,” “great on your feet,” and “the best writer in the joint,” don’t lightly move on. You’re about to surrender a hard-earned (and extraordinarily valuable) asset: Trust.
The road to building trust is long and hard each time you must climb it. And you’ll have to climb it many times in your life: For each new job, each new partner, each new supervisor, and each new client.
Folks who succeed at least understand where they’re starting and what they must do to reach the heights.
Mark Herrmann is the Chief Counsel – Litigation and Global Chief Compliance Officer at Aon, the world’s leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital and management consulting. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at [email protected].