Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners

I’m A Lawyer, You’re A Non-Lawyer. What’s Wrong With Saying That?

Sometimes the lines that divide professions exist for a reason.

By  
on

Two months ago, a relatively innocuous headline — Husch Blackwell’s Next Leader Is a Newly Employed Non-Lawyer — lit a fire around the blogosphere. Seems that several legal professionals took umbrage at American Lawyer ‘s description of Paul Eberle, the newly appointed Husch Blackwell CEO, as a non-lawyer rather than as an “experienced business executive.” Legal marketing professional Heather Morse contends that the term non-lawyer is offensive and a disservice to all of the firms that are being run as businesses, while Am Law Daily’s Gina Passerella argues that use of the term non-lawyer reflects all that is rotten about the law firm caste system.

Frankly, I don’t understand what’s wrong with describing someone who doesn’t hold a law degree or practice law as a non-lawyer in the context of a story about law firms. There are headlines aplenty about non-techies who start and run technology companies — but you don’t see them whining about how the press coverage emphasized their non-technical background rather than their entrepreneurial prowess. Same for non-healthcare professionals  disrupting the healthcare industry. The reason that the articles about non-techie CEOs at tech startups or non-healthcare founders at medical companies are noteworthy is because they run against type — as does a law firm’s choice of a business executive who isn’t a lawyer as CEO. In fact, if Eberle were a lawyer, who would even care about his elevation to law firm leader? Stories about this firm’s or that firm’s new managing partner are so common that they’re not particularly newsworthy, even in the insular world that is the legal trade press.

Moreover, while I don’t doubt that lawyers often treat marketing and business personnel dismissively, that same conduct occurs anytime one group of professionals butt heads with others in the organization. Consider the way that most GCs are treated within corporations — they’re often viewed as overly cautious and risk adverse pinheads who would rather quash a deal than figure out a way to make it work. Yet no one seems particularly upset about characterizing lawyers this way — even post-Enron where honestly, a little more pushback from inhouse lawyers might have avoided the demise of the company and the financial losses suffered by thousands of Enron shareholders. The point is that non-lawyer professionals are “the other” within the law firm organization and they can’t expect to be revered.

But here’s the real reason why there’s nothing wrong with splitting the universe into lawyers and non-lawyers: because it’s the truth. I don’t have an MBA or a Ph.D. in economics and I’ll openly acknowledge that I lack the skills that these other business professionals bring to the table. If someone were to describe me as a non-MBA or a non-Ph.D., it wouldn’t hurt my feelings because it is what it is.

The distinction between lawyers and non-lawyers is even more important to call out — because at the end of the day, we lawyers have both skills and obligations that other non-lawyers lack. I spent three years and thousands of dollars on my legal education and sat for a three-day bar exam. Non-lawyers didn’t. I pulled all-nighters to avoid missing statutory deadlines and meekly nodded as I faced the wrath of an angry judge because to do otherwise might make matters worse for my clients. Non-lawyers didn’t. I carry not only business insurance but malpractice insurance as well so that if I make a mistake, my client can be made at least partially whole. Most legal marketers (at least those working as outside consultants to firms) won’t even provide a  refund if the services they provide are ineffective.

Finally, because I am a lawyer, whenever someone working with me — whether it’s a paralegal or a marketer or a business executive with 20 years of business experience — screws up by creating an ad that violates ethics regulations or engages the firm in a matter where there’s a conflict of interest, my law license and career are on the line, not theirs.

The bottom line is that when it comes to the practice of law, we lawyers have a lot more at stake than someone who is… well, a non-lawyer. That’s not an insult, it’s a reality. If legal professionals view the label “non-lawyer” as a sign of disrespect or don’t understand why they’re treated differently from lawyers, maybe they should be working in a different industry.

Sponsored

Carolyn ElefantCarolyn Elefant has been blogging about solo and small firm practice at MyShingle.comsince 2002 and operated her firm, the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant PLLC, even longer than that. She’s also authored a bunch of books on topics like starting a law practice, social media, and 21st century lawyer representation agreements (affiliate links). If you’re really that interested in learning more about Carolyn, just Google her. The Internet never lies, right? You can contact Carolyn by email at elefant@myshingle.comor follow her on Twitter at @carolynelefant.

Sponsored

Topics

, , ,