Young Lawyers Should Reach for Their Dreams: The Example of Belva Lookwood
By Susan Smith Blakely • October 10, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
This blog post is not only for women lawyers. It is for all young lawyers. It just happens that Belva Lockwood is one of the best examples of reaching for dreams of practicing law --- because of the lack of opportunities for women during her lifetime. So, you say, "Who is Belva Lockwood?" If you attend or attended George Washington University Law --- where she graduated from a predecessor law school there and where the Belva Lockwood Society is very active --- you would know. If not, it is much less likely that you ever have heard of her. I am fortunate…
Are You Addressing Your Workplace Wellness?
By Susan Smith Blakely • October 02, 2019 •Careers, Other Career Issues
Wellness is a big deal in the legal world today. Not wellness as in healthcare law. Wellness as in the mental and physical health of lawyers. We know that statistics support a concern about drug and alcohol addiction among lawyers, but until recently the effects of anxiety and depression had not gotten as much attention. It was a 2016 landmark study by the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation that revealed to me just how widespread and alarming the problems have become among lawyers. Anxiety and depression experienced by law professionals are serious and…
The Importance of Feedback for Millennial Lawyers
By Susan Smith Blakely • September 26, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
Millennial lawyers need feedback from supervising attorneys on a project basis --- not just once or twice a year in scheduled reviews. That is well-established. People in positions like mine hear it all the time, and we know how important feedback is to junior lawyers --- especially those who were raised with an abundance of feedback and mostly praise. What does not get as much attention is the critical failure by law firms to revise review policies and mentoring efforts to meet the feedback needs of young lawyers. As I have stated to law firm and bar association audiences…
Young Lawyers: Ask for What You Want!
By Susan Smith Blakely • September 18, 2019 •Careers, Other Career Issues
Asking for what you want? Ah. It is much harder than it sounds. But, you must master the fine art of identifying what you want and asking for it. Especially at work where every opportunity lost can negatively affect your career path. My friend Anne Loehr just posted an article about this, and I thank her for that. As a leadership consultant to companies and firms, she has done a lot of thinking about this. She isn't always writing for lawyers, but the same rules apply throughout the working world. Anne rightfully points out that the response "I don't care" is…
What All Lawyers Need to Know about Origination Credit
By Susan Smith Blakely • September 11, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
If you are a lawyer just beginning your career, you probably don't spend a lot of time worrying about origination credit. In fact, maybe you never heard of the concept. That makes sense. You have a lot of other things to worry about that affect you on a daily basis in pursuit of improving your skills and becoming the best lawyer you can be. But there is a difference between "worrying about" and "being informed about." As far as I am concerned, every private practice lawyer, regardless of experience, needs to at least be familiar with the concept of origination…
The Future of Billable Hours—- What All Young Lawyers Love to Hate
By Susan Smith Blakely • September 04, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
Billable hours. Ugh. The end all and be all in most law firms today. Together with client origination, billable hours have been the measure of success for law professionals for generations. 2200 annually. 2000. 1950. It really doesn't matter. The ounce of flesh that is exacted to reach those numbers is considerable and should be of primary concern. Wellness of professionals, wholesome law firm values, training young lawyers to become law firm leaders, and client service should matter most --- not billable hours. Despite these countervailing considerations, we keep concentrating on leveraging and law firm profits, all of which derive…
Law Firms Should Follow Corporations In Looking Beyond Self-Interest
By Susan Smith Blakely • August 28, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
Law firm greed. I have been writing about the negative impact of greed in the law profession since 2016. It was then that I first discussed how the greed manifested by large law firms is undercutting the professionalism of the business of law. Those comments appeared in an article I penned for Corporate Counsel in its September issue that year, and I have discussed the concepts many times since in articles and remarks to legal audiences. In essence, I argue that it was the greed of Wall Street that brought our economy to its knees in 2008, and it will be the…
Family Planning For Women Lawyers
By Susan Smith Blakely • August 21, 2019 •Careers, Other Career Issues
Last week's blog addressed the realities of non-equity partnership. As pointed out in that blog, there is a lot of difference between equity partnership and the increasing non-equity partnership cohort. If you have to refresh your memory, this might be a good time to do it because family planning for women lawyers builds on some of the themes of that blog. For example, even though non-equity partnership may not include all that women lawyers are seeking, it could be a fine landing place for them while they are trying to make motherhood and lawyering work. When making that decision for…
The Reality of Non-Equity Partnership
By Susan Smith Blakely • August 19, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
Lawyers at all levels of practice can be valuable members of the profession and can find satisfaction in their work. That is a given, and the decision where you want to fall along the gamut is up to you. But, before you put that decision in motion, be sure that you understand the terms. For law firms, that includes being familiar with the ins and outs of non-equity partnership. Non-equity partnership sounds good to many young lawyers who think they understand the demands of equity partnership and want something less. The thinking goes something like this: I will still have an…