Small Law Firms

Pragmatism In The Law: A Necessary Evil

Lawyers always need to balance pragmatism and reality against risk.

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Stephen Williams’s recent post about the need to be a pragmatic attorney was right on the mark. We constantly need to assess the potential risk versus the client’s needs and willingness to take risks. That’s why the clients are the business people, the entrepreneurs, the ones willing to take fliers, and we are the cautious ones, the ones who look in every corner for shadows, the ones who say to look both ways before stepping off the curb.

I think most of us lawyers have a tendency to “overlawyer” — to think of risks that may only exist in law school discussions or on the (shudder) bar exam, to wear both belt and suspenders — but in real life, clients accept risk.

My point, and I think Stephen’s point as well, is a variation of the expression “alright, already.” Have much more paper do you need to close the deal, settle the case, and to use that hackneyed expression, “Move on?” Lawyers always need to balance pragmatism and reality against risk.

Lawyers take risks with their own careers. How many peeps do you know who have ditched Biglaw, government, in-house, or a boutique firm for striking out on their own, to do their own thing, in their own way, and on their own time?

Several women lawyer friends of mine are in different places in their careers, one in her 30s, one in her 50s, and then, ta-da, me, bringing up the rear, both figuratively and literally, and let’s stipulate that I am Medicare eligible and leave it at that.

So, approximately 20 years separate us, and what a difference two decades make, not only in how we practice, but why we practice what we do, and how goals and ambitions can morph over those differences in years.

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The youngest of the three of us (and all of us were born in the first half of December, make of that what you will) is in her sixth year of practice. She is on an upward trajectory, gaining clients and business, gaining confidence and wisdom as she grows. She was timid and somewhat fearful in her first few years, but the timidity is gone, the fear of being sued has subsided (although I am here to tell you that the particular fear never really dissipates). She’s marketing, she’s speaking, she’s writing, and she leads a networking group. She has blossomed from her persistence, her determination, and hard work. For a while, she wanted a job so that she could receive some mentoring, but it wasn’t to be. So, she summoned up her courage and called other lawyers for advice, for guidance, for how to accomplish certain tasks. It’s worked.

The middle one is hard at work at crafting a midcareer that works for her. It’s a mixture of business consulting and limited-scope practice. Absolutely no litigation, she says, and I don’t blame her. Litigation brings out the worst in people — both clients and lawyers — and at a certain point in time, some lawyers say that they’re done pushing discovery documents and other people around.

And me? By now, you know way more than you care to know about me.

Law.com had a podcast recently on one of my favorite topics: baby boomers v. millennials. The participants were a lawyer in a New York City law firm who graduated law school a few years before me (is that possible?) and a millennial lawyer in Miami who had worked in Biglaw for several years and then struck out on her own.

Listen to it. For us dinosaurs, it’s important to hear how millennials view us. The conversation between the two was very polite, but I could sense frustration from the millennial about how she and others similarly situated are being treated by “elders” in the profession. Her main concerns are nothing new: the crushing amount of required billable hours, the lack of mentoring, the inability to get out of the office to meet and make connections that could lead to business. It’s billable hours v. business development. She said young lawyers work differently; it’s not laziness, but a more efficient way to approach work and working remotely is one aspect of that efficiency

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Here’s my question, dinosaurs: are we preparing millennial lawyers for what they need to know to practice successfully? Isn’t it our job to “pay it forward,” so to speak?

Here’s an idea that combines efficiency with innovation — at least I think it does. For all of us who bemoan the length of contracts (and it’s not necessarily just clients who grumble), how about this for certain kinds of contracts? Comic books. Work with me here. And yes, there is actually a website for this.

We often cut and paste, rather than going through the hard work of figuring out how to word a contract in simple language. Using the technique of comic books (aka graphic novels) might force lawyers to use plain English, rather than jargon. I think it’s a brilliant idea. It won’t be appropriate for all agreements, but I think it’s an idea worth trying, anything to make law more accessible and easier to understand for the end users, our clients.  Maybe clients will even read them.

old lady lawyer elderly woman grandmother grandma laptop computerJill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at [email protected].

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