In-House Counsel

Rankings Aren't Just for Law School: Tier 3 / 'Cooley' Employees

More thoughts from columnist Stephen Williams on how in-house lawyers can deal with underperformers.

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Ranking dice LFThe Thomas M. Cooley Law School is no stranger to these pages. From “winning” ATL’s March Madness to the recurring stories of Cooley’s accreditation being in danger, Cooley has come to epitomize everything wrong with today’s legal education system.

Despite this storied reputation, hundreds of students continue to enroll each year out of a genuine desire to join their respective state’s roll of attorneys post-graduation. And although these students will give their best efforts during school, roughly half of them will be unable to pass the bar exam after graduation.

Why?

The legal field is difficult and complex. Not everyone is meant to be a lawyer or in a position supporting one. That is not a knock on these students or individuals, as I am sure plenty will go on to respected careers in other non-legal fields. Rather, it is to say that different individuals have different personal strengths.

For instance, I know I am terrible at math. If I applied, I would be soundly rejected from MIT’s engineering program and would be forced to attend a sub-par program at a less prestigious school. Ultimately after graduation I would fail the licensing exams and would be forced to pursue a different career after graduation. Math is not for me as much as the law is not for someone else.

Relating back to working as an in-house manager, I have several team members that despite their best efforts at supporting the legal team are just not wired to work in a legal capacity. Without a doubt, this is the hardest group of employees to manage, as they genuinely work hard, ask the right questions, and work on the weekends. But in the end, it simply never clicks, and their work suffers.

I have one particular team member who could not have been more excited to join the team. She was well liked by her peers, she had glowing reviews from her former managers, and she displayed a genuine desire to learn the legal side of the business.

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For the first few weeks, she was a constant presence in my office and always came armed with thoughtful questions, and I was happy to help however I could. She would dutifully take notes and respond that she was beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.

However, weeks turned to months ,and her once thoughtful questions turned repetitive. Despite her assurances that she was still seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, it was becoming clear the light was from a train barreling her way rather than the exit.

As her work began to fall behind, she began to stay late and even work on the weekends to catch up. Not once did she give up or admit defeat, but I could see this was beginning to take a toll on her. Her once jovial nature turned quiet and she began to isolate herself from the team. It was clear her excitement had worn off and she now lived in fear of the day she would inevitably collide with the train.

Rather than sitting back and waiting for the collision to come, I opted to have a frank discussion with her about her newfound dislike of the team and her work. Her unhappiness stemmed from her feeling like she failed — something she had not previously done in her professional life.

I assured her I could tell how hard she was trying and that I was not planning to fire her, but thought we should instead look together for a position in another department that would be a better fit of her skills.

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A look of relief immediately rushed to her face, and tears began to form in her eyes. She could not have been more thankful for my recognizing her struggles and my offer to assist her however I could in finding a new home in our company. As an in-house manager, your job is to ensure talented employees are put to their highest and best use in the company instead of dismissing them if they are unable to perform in an often complex legal role.

As for Cooley Law School, imagine if they adopted a similar approach and offered their students a refund after the first semester or first year if the student realized they made a mistake and a career in law was not for them. Instead, those students, often laden with debt and too far to turn back, feel forced to wait for the inevitable collision with the train.

Stephen Williams is in-house counsel with a multi-facility hospital network in the Midwest. His column focuses on a little talked about area of the in-house life, management. You can reach Stephen at stephenwilliamsjd@gmail.com.

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