Bruce Stachenfeld
What a fool I am to write about this when I could just keep my mouth shut and take the safe route, rather than risk being misconstrued. However, I am supposed to be talking about “reinventing” the law business, and the law business is a personal service business in which the name of the game is to knit a team of people together to achieve a common purpose — so I am not going to take the easy way out.
Of late, it seems like every time I pick up the newspaper, I read with dismay, horror and sadness what is going on around us. Each week it seems like we hear of another mass shooting, another terrorist attack, or some other horrific and senseless act of violence. We live in a world with lots of amazing – and good – people, and yet things seem to be going so very wrong. There are many sides to what is happening – and I am being careful not to advocate a position here. There are many thoughts about what is causing these things to happen, and it seems like there is no solution, which makes me – and presumably others – feel frustrated, upset, helpless and depressed. At least that is how I feel.
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So took a little time to think about this from two perspectives…
First perspective – as far as solving the country’s or the world’s problems – I don’t have any solution. I have ideas as to what “we” should do, but when it comes right down to it I have no influence on the hundreds of millions of people who live and work all over the country, and even less impact on the rest of the world.
Second perspective – as far as my law firm goes – I have 100 people who work at my firm. Here I can do something for sure. I can make it 1000% clear to everyone at my firm that we are going to make value judgments about people based solely on who they are and what value they contribute to the Firm, rather than what they look like, what religion they practice, or their sexual orientation. I can also make it clear that, as a Firm, we will only tolerate people who have respect for one another (and the differences that we each possess). I believe we already do this exceptionally well at Duval & Stachenfeld, and we can continue to do that.
If I think about the first perspective, it leaves me cold and saddened and even afraid – I am like Forrest Gump – a petal in the wind. I feel like no matter what I do, I have no material ability to have any positive effect on anything.
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However, if I think about the second perspective, it makes me optimistic about the future and my role in it. I know that regardless of what is happening in the outside world, my 100 colleagues and I – together – will be able to control those things we can control and create a safe and welcoming environment for all within our little law firm.
Now I wonder – being a bit wistful – if other companies and organizations try to do the same thing that we are doing at D&S, then this might be able to create a ripple effect that will have a positive effect on the outside world. Maybe this solution to the second perspective will have a positive effect on the first perspective.
To conclude – neither I – nor all of us at D&S – can control events outside of D&S, but we at D&S can certainly do our best to lead ourselves internally in a way we can be proud of and, to the extent anyone else is watching, lead by example.
Bruce Stachenfeld is the managing partner of Duval & Stachenfeld LLP, which is an approximately 70-lawyer law firm based in midtown Manhattan. The firm is known as “The Pure Play in Real Estate Law” because all of its practice areas are focused around real estate. With more than 50 full-time real estate lawyers, the firm is one of the largest real estate law practices in New York City. You can contact Bruce by email at [email protected].