In-House Counsel

Sadly, Anyone Can Be An Attorney

There is more to proving you are the best candidate for a job than you bar status.

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As an attorney, I am immediately deferential to my fellow members of the bar.

For better or worse, if I see a J.D. after a name on a résumé or a business card, I immediately hold them in some sort of esteem versus someone without.

But as I was reminded this past week, with a little bit of work, anyone can be an attorney and those initials alone do not bestow some sort of baseline competence upon the individual, despite my best wishes.

We recently had a position open under our corporate legal umbrella for which a law degree was not necessary. As we filtered through the number of applicants who had applied for the position, I immediately found my favorite based solely on the fact they were an attorney.

Regardless of the fact there were dozens of résumés which exhibited work histories more aligned to our job opening, I was fixated on the attorney in the bunch and refused to let it go. And while I relented to my colleagues’ demands that we at least interview a few other non-attorney candidates, admittedly my mind was made up.

During the week of the interviews, I strategically asked our coordinator to schedule the attorney last knowing deep down he would emerge as the only viable option, again based on nothing more than his status as a member of the bar.

The first few days of interviews went exactly as you might expect. We had few candidates who missed the mark, several who were okay, and a couple who could step into the job tomorrow, but alas, I did not get my hopes up as I knew the attorney candidate would steal the show.

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When the attorney arrived, he was straight from central casting.

Navy suit, white shirt, and a power tie.

I felt validated straight away.

However, as the interview began, he tripped out of the gate with a question about starting salary. He quickly followed up on his initial blunder with questions demonstrating he neither took the time to research our company nor had he actually understood the open position.

I generally reserve strong words for when they are truly necessary, but unmitigated disaster is probably the best descriptor I cant think of to describe his interview.

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As we left the conference room, one of my fellow attorney colleagues remarked, “Sadly, anyone can be an attorney nowadays.” And she was absolutely right. His membership to the bar in no way bestowed any sort of minimum competence upon him, especially as it related to our vacancy.

As much as it pains me to say it now, there are some positions where a professional accreditation carries some weight. Even the worst doctor I have met is still better equipped to treat a patient than I will ever be. And I would still trust the most incompetent CPA out there with my finances more than I would trust myself, but sadly I cannot say the same of attorneys.

Yes, the passage of a state’s bar is a no small feat and is certainly worth celebrating, but I would argue it does little to predict one’s future success in the profession.

While I am certain I will continue to favor those who suffered through law school like I did to those who did not, I am at least now willing to admit there is more to proving you are the best candidate for a job than you bar status.

Although a power suit may make a strong first impression, I will gladly hire the most competent applicant for a job, even if that means passing over a fellow attorney.

Stephen R. 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 [email protected].

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