Chuck Newton

Start At The Top

When I graduated from law school, much too long ago to remember, I could not find a law job in Houston as the Texas economy was in a state of collapse.  I moved back to my home town of Texarkana, Texas. There I started my own law practice with no experience in anything, except that I worked a little during law school. I did not have a great grasp of business, law, organization, marketing or even speaking with people about what I do. When I brought in my first case (a divorce) I did not even know what the pleadings were suppose to look like or how you filed pleadings with the district clerk.  In fact, in Texas, I did not even understand there was a difference between the county clerk and the district clerk.

This was before tech, and I really had only three things going fo me, none of which I learned in law school. First, I had some ambition of sorts. Maybe it would be best to call it curiosity. Or, maybe it would be best to call it confidence that everything will turn out alright. Faith maybe. But, whatever you call it, I had a driving interest to figure things out, to get out of bed everyday regardless of the results of the previous day, and to move forward in meeting people, getting the advice I needed, dispensing the advice to others that was necessary, and to divorce myself from what other lawyers were doing to practice law.  I could remove myself from convention to see what worked for me. And, I was excited to work myself through this process.

Second, I learned growing up that when you meet people you greet people with a firm handshake, and look them straight in the eye. It turns out this works well with establishing referral sources.

Third, I knew from politics that grassroots are everything. Today and in business or law we call them referral sources. Regardless, the grassroots represent the community. In a political context it manifests itself in hosting house parties, organizing meetings, handing out literature, talking to people on the streets so to speak, mobilizing letter-writing, phone-calling and, now, emailing, blogging and social media campaigns. It is setting up information tables, and asking people to submit opinions. Today, these communities can be virtual, and paper plays less of a part.  But, the concept works no matter what you call it in a modern, business, or legal context.

What I learned though all of this is that the well meaning advice people give young lawyers to not limit yourselves to practice areas, to first work at an existing law firm, to first learn the law, then slowly work yourself into the community does not have to be. The grassroots are ready for you now.

My advice is do not be intimidated. Start at the top. If you can find a law job that is truly beneficial to you, then that is great. Do it. But, if not, then shoulder yourself through the crowd to the front and make yourself known. I am not saying to be impolite, but with little ambition, a firm handshake, some eye contact, you are always going to do yourself well with the grassroots.

Finders. Minders. Grinders.

I recently posted about the need to focus on rainmaking. From this I received a number of inquiries from new lawyers that question how anyone can do this when they are not really sure how yet to practice law. "Don't you need to know what you are doing first"?

The question is rather counter intuitive to me. It represents kind of the chicken or the egg argument, if you would think about it. Sure, you need to know about your practice area or niche, but how in the world are you going to get that experience if you do not focus on obtaining paying clients?

We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. We all have the ability to exploit our strengths and improve on our weaknesses. The problem with law school is that it does not deal with two of the three aspects of actually practicing law. Given the law school selection process (the personality types they typically accept), and the concentration on a limited set of tasks, most of us are greatly deficient on the skills not taught.

What you will hear about the practice of law is that the lawyers that make up the field are finders, minders and grinders. The finders bring in well paying clients. The minder keeps the well paying client happy. The grinder reads, briefs, writes, appears in court, argues with other grinders, and rarely sees the well paying client. The grinder certainly is not the chief contact.

Law schools concentrate on developing grinders. The Big Law system concerns itself first on developing grinders. Grinders are needed in order to create the large sum of money that flows up to the finders and minders. According to DealB%k, the average Big Law Partner in the United States makes $640,000.00. They are often paid many more times this amount. But, according to PayScale.Com, the average national salary, with bonuses, profit sharing and commissions for most attorneys is between $45,623 to $172,816 per year.

The irony of the situation is that many lawyers go solo directly out of law school, or leave Big Law, because they do not wish to be, or they are sick of just bing, grinders. They would rather, at least in their inner most thoughts, be finders and minders. And why not? I can assure you that when the legal market collapsed along with the economy a few years ago, it was the grinders that found themselves out of work. Minders would have done okay. And, every firm had room for the finders.

I say it is ironic, because most attorneys that go out on their own for this reason just seem to have so much trouble in going out and building a book of business (reliable referral sources). I am not exactly sure why, but most of it is emotional I am sure. They fear putting themselves out there only to get rejected or slapped down. It is hard work. It means making yourself known and always available to the right people, groups, organizations and associations that need and want you and your firm's services. It means focusing on the task of on follow up like a laser.

And ... what confuses most new lawyers is this thought that you already have to be the expert in your field, or a legal celebrity, in order to be a finder. This is just wrong.

Many lawyers that I consider good finders graduated at or below the fifty percentile of their graduating class. They went to 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier law schools, most held only odd jobs before and during law school. Many went to law school at nights and on the weekends. Let us just say that most finders were (and often are) unremarkable people.

Their biggest quality is that most have a friendly warmth about them -- kind of the opposite of the jackass quality that law schools tend to breed into people. Not an expertise necessarily, but a natural curiosity and a willingness to be available to help when needed. They are people that can listen to what people do not say. They have an ability or self-training to perceive emotion, integrate it, understand it, and regulate it to promote growth. They are great at self-awareness and gut feelings.

Finders are also good at relationship management as an adjunct to, or replacement for, the law school taught skills.

Understand, however, that what I did not mention to be a great finder was experience of the lack thereof. As pointed out by Jacob Stein recently, the experience that is needed is that as described by Aldous Huxley:

"Experience is not a matter of having actually swum the Hellespont, or danced with the dervishes, or slept in a doss-house. It is a matter of sensibility and intuition, of seeing and hearing the significant things, of paying attention at the right moments, of understanding and coordinating. Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."

And,if you are self-conscious, diffident, or reticent, I would tell you not to worry. Those are probably the best qualities to being a great finder. We all suffer from leaner's reticence, but the only way to get over it is to get out there and make yourself available.

In fact, I will tell you that being a little hesitant, demurred, modest, or sedate is a bit of an advantage. Nobody likes an in-your-face lawyer or an unrestrained cheerleader. These lawyers come across as hucksters and people actually try to avoid them.

All that is required is to always be there, and to at least try to be helpful, and to gently follow up.

Maybe that is the problem to some extent. It is hard to convince yourself that you can be reserved and talkative, or unassertive and confident. I tend to think of it as just being yourself as among friends at the kitchen table.

The trait I have found in finders is not that they are not shy or restrained, nervous, humble or retiring, it is that they are there. If you wish to represent builders, for example, you will find that there are a lot of attorneys that are members of the local association of builders. But, what you will not find many that are always there, at the meetings, at the luncheons, and the continuing education, passively making contacts, building friendships, remembering information, but otherwise just being modest. Most attorneys just pay dues.

Sure these people, groups, organizations and associations already have established relationships. But these are always in a state of flux. You have to be there when these people and groups want a change.

The point is when people talk about an over supply of lawyers they are talking about grinders. They are sometimes talking about minders. But, there are very very few attorneys who have a "book of business" and who are -- or aspire to be -- finders. If you are primarily in this latter category, you will never have too much competition.

So, what do you want to be? Finder? Minder? Or, a grinder?

It Is All About Focus. Focus On Making Rain.

No, I am not talking about the recent drought in Texas, which is slowly killing my beloved piney woods.

I am talking about the mistake that I and almost every attorney who graduates from law school or leaves an existing firm to start their own practice makes.

Simply put, they are focused on the wrong things.

I say things (plural) because first they are focused top intently on their surroundings and, second, they are focused on the intricacies of their practice area. The former is frivolous. The latter is necessary but it really misses the point.

Two things bring this subject to mind. First, I was communicating with an attorney recently who was concerned with how to keep up with the little work she was receiving, while also fretting about her lack of earnings. I informed her that her focus on work product over feverishly networking was all wrong.

Second, was this article in DealB%k concerning the fact that more law firms are raiding competitors to poach their rainmakers. In short, these are the lawyers that stand out and warrant the big paychecks.

Both reminded me of a conversation (a friendly argument really) in the lawyers lounge at the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston, Texas in the late 1980s. The conversation was relevant then and it is still relevant today. To pass the time while a bunch of us attorneys waited on the judge to complete the regular docket, the lawyers at the table were arguing as to who made the most money and had the best quality of life -- litigation attorneys or transactional attorneys. The argument got more animated and then Jim Coleman, the named partner of Carrington Coleman, a prestigious firm in Dallas, simply stated that both sides were wrong. He stated the attorneys that make the most money and have the best quality of life are the rainmakers. They can always find the best litigation attorneys and transactional attorneys to do the work.

Put simply, smart, obnoxious attorneys are a dime a dozen. Smart, charming, extroverted attorneys who build relationships easily are in very short supply. Which do you want to be?

The question of how can you be a rainmaker right out of law school misses the point as well. The question is what is your focus as you move forward. Is it in typing pleadings and making jury argument, or in finding clients and developing a book of business (a slew of referral sources you can count on)?

Can you do this without worrying about your work product?

No, but the question is when you get out of bed every day, what is your desire? To go draft pleadings or contracts, or to network? It is true if your work product is not great, you will have a hard time keeping clients, but if you have clients you should not have any problem finding quality lawyers which you can guide through the work product issue.

It is easier to network if you limit yourself to a niche area, and then work it dependably and boldly. It is just easier to dominate a market and make it your own. Notice that most of the rainmakers being recruited in the article are from specific practice areas.

What I think you will learn very quickly is that were there are a lot of attorneys, there is very little competition in this regard. Although most attorneys are very hard working, very few are able to dedicate themselves to this task.

Most attorneys desire success, but most are not focused enough to go get it no matter what the level of desire. Desire and drive are two different things. If you wish to be a success, you desire to be a rainmaker.

Is There A Solar-Powered Shed In Your Future?

In order to have a home office, you need a home-based office space.  Some people have that inside their home.  Some do not.  The point is that it easy and relatively inexpensive to add if you need a degree of separation between work and home.

One example is StudioShed.  Third Wave has blogged about it before.  But, here is an example by Gail Seigel.  She is not a lawyer, but a full-time jeweler.  It does not matter as it shows the versitality and possibility of the space.  After weighing her options, including renting a space and buying a larger home, she decided to install a 14'x10'x9' prefabricated a solar-powered backyard shed by Studio Shed.  It includes electrical and plumbing, and has FSC-certified TruWood Collins siding, corrugated metal, a foam-insulated cement floor, energy-efficient windows, and eight 235-watt solar panels.  Not counting solar panels or other options, Studio Shed offers a shed of this size for about $7,200 and generates enough energy for the shed and part of the house.