Ed. note: Please welcome our newest in-house columnist, Stephen Williams (note: a pseudonym), who will focus on a little talked about area of the in-house life, management.
“But you’re a lawyer, right?”
Those were the first words blurted out by a woman twice my age after I was introduced as her new manager. Despite my being new to the company and comparatively inexperienced, she was surprisingly relived by my academic credentials. My degree was enough for her to happily accept the new power dynamic, and the rest of my new team followed suit.
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But while my team accepted me as their new manager, I quickly attempted to recall anything from my law school curricula that had prepared me for this role and came up empty. Say what you will about the “easy life” of being in-house counsel, but at that moment I would have gladly traded my present assignment for getting yelled at by a Biglaw partner.
Attorneys, regardless of age or experience, are generally held in higher esteem, and we are thought to have the answers to all sorts of questions off the top of our heads. I was given this same deference by my team when it came to the ability to manage. Somehow since I was an attorney, I must also understand the intricacies of fostering a successful team. My, how my team was mistaken!
As lawyers, we make a living off our intelligence and our communication skills. We believe that even if an assignment is destroyed by a partner, it’s simply because they did not understand the depth of our logic. Or even if we produce a subpar document, we believe we can explain our way out of the corner if given the opportunity.
Yet when it comes to the role of management, especially when managing a team of non-attorneys, there is little room for talking your way out of the team’s failure. For perhaps the first time, your success is directly tied to how well your team performs. You might be an expert in your field, but if your team missteps, you can no longer fall back on your golden tongue to escape the blame.
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In the coming weeks, this column will focus on in-house issues that no law school, regardless of rank, is able to prepare its students to encounter. From physically breaking up team member fights to mentoring law clerks, I will share my successes and failures during my time as a newish in-house counsel.
While I am admittedly home in time for dinner in the evenings and rarely need to work on the weekends, my experience in-house has proved to be far less glamorous than portrayed.
To my Biglaw colleague currently rolling his or her eyes, please recall the last assignment you turned into the client. Was the preliminary research conducted by a graduate of a top law school? Did you get to confer with multiple associates and partners before it went out the door? Were you interrupted during your work, or were you permitted to close your door and tune out the rest of the office for hour upon billable hour as you completed your assignment?
Now envision the same assignment, but this time your initial research is conducted by a forty-year veteran of the company who received their paralegal certificate before the age of the internet. At best you are able to have one other attorney review your work before it’s submitted because the in-house counsel’s office is that small. And instead of the uninterrupted quiet in which to complete your work, your team pops in regularly to have you sign off on their work, console them when their car breaks down and they cannot afford the repairs, or simply to chat since you are their boss. Also be prepared to stop at a moment’s notice to answer any inbound inquiries from the C-Suite and hope your ten minutes of research is enough to get them the right answer.
So my dear Biglaw colleague, while I am able to book my spring break in the coming weeks and know I will not be bothered while I am on the beach, please know after having three of my team members cry in my office due to the latest office gossip, I probably earned this vacation.
Stephen Williams is in-house counsel with a multi-facility hospital network in the Midwest. His column will focus on a little talked about area of the in-house life, management. You can reach Stephen at [email protected].