Our law schools generally do a fine job teaching students two things: “the law” as it is structured in several key areas and how to spot issues (a.k.a. how to think like an attorney).

Where we are lacking, however, is in teaching the next generations of our profession some of the real nuts and bolts of what it means to have a career in the law. The following topics might provide some growth opportunities, especially for young attorneys and their practices.

In a nutshell, much of this article can be summarized by one simple piece of advice: Take your ego out of it!

UNDER-PROMISE AND OVER-PERFORM

Resist the urge to brag early on about all the wonderful things you will do for a client. Wait. Defer gratification until the end of the case, rather than seek it at the beginning.

Example: You have a potential client in your office who suffered a personal injury. In your experience, you feel their case might get them as much as $10,000, after your contingency fee and the medical bills are paid.

If you say up front, “I think you can get $10,000 for this case,” you’ve boxed yourself into a corner. You’d better deliver! If the client retains and in the end they receive $9,000 as their share of a settlement, many clients will wonder (sometimes aloud): “What did my attorney do to cost me that extra $1,000? Did they overcharge me? Is that why I only received $9,000?”.

However, things might have been different if you changed your approach up front and instead said this at the initial client meeting: “Every case is different, and there are lots of variables. The other side is going to claim you did X, Y and Z … and because of that they will say you shouldn’t get much, if anything. But we’ve handled cases like this before, and have had some success. We believe we can have success on your case as well.” Then if the client receives that same $9,000 in settlement, they will be singing your praises (and likely recommending you to others).

COMMUNICATIONS

Regardless of the size of your firm, try to channel the royal family and use plural, rather than individual, references in your communications. You will sound much stronger and come across more professionally as well.

For instance, when you make statements like: “I intend to …” or “My client will …” or “Respond to me by …” these phrases all express singularity but also show weakness. They indicate you are a solitary actor, and solitary actors are much less menacing than large groups like an entire law firm.

Instead, try these similar phrases: “We intend to …” or “Our client will …” or “Respond to us by …” The other party has no idea whether you are acting alone, perhaps with your spouse as your only support staffer, or if you are affiliated with dozens of others in this matter. Size (and the unknown) expresses strength for your position.

HOW YOU TREAT SUPPORT STAFF IS IMPORTANT

Whether you are a bit player in a large law firm or a solo practitioner, support staff is essential to your practice. This includes the support staff of your opposition and the court with whom you may come in contact, as well as those from your own office. From your secretary to your paralegal, receptionists, and even the copy person — each provides a critical service necessary for your continued success.

When the tide comes in on your income streams, consider sharing some of that extra revenue with those folks who helped make it all possible. Bonuses are appreciated by everyone, and sharing the spoils of a good quarter will only encourage your staff in the future. It also has the additional effect of making them feel more like members of a team — your team.

Another way you can strengthen your bond with the support staff is to give them credit for positive results you get, while taking the blame yourself for negative results. If good things are happening on your cases, there will be plenty of positives for you as the attorney. Why not spread that around to engender good feelings of accomplishment with key people in your office? After all, it is unlikely that anyone will think, The legal secretary is the real reason they won that case, but if your job is typing, filing and making copies, imagine the wonderful feeling of having your boss proclaim publicly: “We wouldn’t have won this without you! Thank you! ”

There are so many other simple and easy ways to express gratitude for your staff, not the least of which is to encourage them to have a private life and family, and to BE THERE for their family events. Consider giving someone the afternoon off to go see their child’s soccer match or school play. If needed, encourage them to bring a child into the office for a few days if their daycare has fallen through. Going to work with a parent, and seeing/experiencing what Mom or Dad does every day, makes the parent look like a hero in the eyes of a child. And who wouldn’t want that?

GET BACK INTO COURT

Four years after the COVID closures, some courts in Michigan are still not fully open. Respected and well-intentioned people are saying: “We might never fully reopen. This method of Zoom or telephone hearings is just easier for many of us.”

“Easy” may be true, but our present convenience means we are robbing up-and-coming attorneys of the opportunity to work on and master critical skills that most any practitioner should master, and we must consider how an absence of in-person hearings affects our practice as a whole.

Zoom or telephone hearings lack the gravitas of having to dress up, drive to court, face your opposition and convince a neutral party of the legitimacy of your arguments. New attorneys hone skills like listening, changing arguments on the fly, client control, preparing for court, and answering pointed questions when hearings are done in person. Also, when hearings are held over a computer or telephone screen, distractions abound that lead to a lessening of the overall quality of practice.

Simply put, there is no replacement for “eyeballing” a person as they testify. Older practitioners will say that, over time, one develops a “sixth sense” for when someone in front of them is telling the truth or hiding something. This disappears on a Zoom call, where unknown actors may be coaching the witness off-camera or there may be disruptions like phones ringing, dogs barking, or other conversations happening in the background.

RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

If your practice focuses on just a few areas of the law, you will see the same people over and over again. Judges, court clerks, paralegals and especially other attorneys (both opposition attorneys and those practicing in the same area as you). These people matter. In fact, if you continue practicing in that same area of the law, you may run into these same individuals hundreds of times over your legal career, both personally and professionally. Nurture those relationships.

After decades of practice, many attorneys know who to call in a tight situation for advice, assistance, or simply for a favor. The legal practice can be a very small world. Young attorneys you might see down at court today, making their first few (painful) oral arguments, may well grow into significant contributors at firms you find yourself dealing with years from now. It always helps to be on a first-name basis with them, such that one can pick up the phone and ask for help whenever it is needed most (or answer a call from them, who may be equally in need).

YOUR REPUTATION IS EVERYTHING

Finally, and importantly, remember that your reputation is important.

The first ethics classes we took in law school taught an important lesson that too many have seemingly forgotten: Our first duty as attorneys is to the Bar itself, and then to our clients. Many ethical rules point to this, such as the prohibition against offering knowingly perjured testimony or the duty of candor to the court.

The simple truth is that no single client, and no single case, is worth your reputation. In our zeal to “win,” sometimes this truth can become cloudy. But it is at the cornerstone of any truly successful practice. Your reputation with the court and with other attorneys is the basis on which you will often be judged when your work or actions are placed under scrutiny.

CONCLUSION

The practice of law is a profession. While law schools often don’t teach a class on what it means to be a professional, the school of hard knocks does.

Every member of the Bar has endured a learning curve, and every lawyer has made mistakes over the years. We should never stop trying to better ourselves, and each one of us has room to improve areas of our practice. It is in learning from our mistakes, and learning from the mistakes of others, that we can truly grow. And that is where we, as individuals and as a profession, need to remember to “Take your ego out of it!”