One of the most important things you learn when practicing at a small firm is that everything is personal. In good times, success is even sweeter when shared with people with whom you have developed deep relationships. In times of stress, however, things can be more difficult to deal with, at least compared to those who work for themselves or at larger institutions. It helps when the entire firm is united against a common foe, of course, such as when there is a critical client matter where everyone is pitching in. When there are internal divisions, however, things can be more difficult — irrespective of whether the cause of those divisions is homegrown or caused by external events. How a firm deals with such adversity is a good barometer of the firm’s resilience and strength.
Let’s use the recent election as an example. Invariably, no two people share the same political viewpoint. Lawyers in particular can have very strong political views, and any small firm is likely to have partners who can disagree pretty vehemently on political issues. Lawyers are not immune from following a hard-fought election in real time, or feeling the need to broadcast their opinions on how an election is unfolding to their nearest audience — which is inevitably their partners, with whom they are interacting on a constant basis. This is all healthy, and a sign of a vibrant democracy and engaged citizens, even if the less politically inclined amongst the partnership may find the proceedings a bit overblown or prefer to talk about something else.
Since every contest has a winner, there is a good chance that at small firms around the country, there are partners who are happy with the results and partners who are disappointed with how the election turned out. As with any difficult fight, the harder the battle, the more drained the surviving combatants will feel. There is no dispute that this election felt particularly bruising, for all sides. While the political viewpoints of the various partners in my firm are not important for purposes of this column, I recognize that there may be a need at many firms to let any wounds caused by the election heal quickly, so that everyone can get back to work in as productive a manner as possible.
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Accordingly, I think it is important to acknowledge at the outset that something as external as a national election can impact a firm’s morale and internal relationships. Accepting that fact, it behooves the firm’s partners to work together as closely as possible to move forward, no matter how heated any disagreements about the election got, or how disappointed any individual or group of partners feels about the results. While we are talking about this issue in the context of the recent election, it should be obvious that the following tips are just as useful for dealing with any internal conflict that has just been resolved.
First, it is absolutely imperative that the winning side acknowledge that the losing side will need some time to heal. One of the worst things anyone can do is try and engage an emotional counterparty while that party’s emotions are at their rawest. Any such attempts run the risk of being interpreted as bullying, or that the winner is dismissing the real hurt being experienced by the loser. As a general rule, the more intense the emotions being felt, the longer it will take for someone to work through those emotions, and get into a state where they would be receptive to rapprochement. Patience, at least on the part of the winner, is probably a better course of action when trying to heal wounds, even though there may be some impatience to put the past behind and move forward for the good of the firm. Yes, it is difficult to imagine sometimes that someone else is really emotional about certain issues. Better to err on the side of respecting the depth of that person’s distress, rather than presuming that they are ready to put it all behind them immediately.
Second, there is really no room for gloating when trying to heal wounds. If you need to gloat, do it on some online chat forum or comments section — preferably anonymously so you don’t embarrass your firm. People have long memories, especially when people they consider themselves close to decide to gloat at their expense. Repairing the resultant damage from such boorish behavior will require a lot more effort that refraining from gloating in the first place. A better approach is to reach out to the affected colleague with an offer to work on something productive together. Whether it is a client matter or some marketing piece, helping to distract them from their hurt with a new project of benefit to the firm can be a great way to help them move forward.
Finally, you can do your part to help a colleague get over a wound by giving them the opportunity to express the lessons they learned from the experience they just went through. This provides them with a mechanism to redirect their emotional energy into a more productive channel than simple depression or anger over an unwanted event or result. Put another way, sometimes just being a good friend and listening to them as they express their frustrations can help accelerate the healing process. For a profession that still bills clients based on time expended on many engagements, anything that accelerates a return to full productivity by every member of the firm is something worthwhile. As I said above, small firms are judged by their ability to heal wounds quickly, because perhaps more than any other type of law firm, they can least afford to let those wounds fester.
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Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at [email protected] or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.
Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique. The firm’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.