D&B Brief

Who is Wise? The One Who Learns from All

Heather Bradley, CPCC, and Miriam Bamberger Grogan, CPCC, are the co-founders of The Flourishing Company, a workplace consulting firm which changes the way people experience work. They are the authors of Judge For Yourself: Clarity, Choice, and Action in Your Legal Career, published by the American Bar Association in cooperation with MCCA®. For additional information, visit: www.TheFlourishingCompany.com.

 

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If you had the opportunity to learn how to improve your recruitment and retention efforts or innovate the service you provide your clients, would you take it? Who wouldn't? Yet many lawyers resist tapping into information that is often right in front of them. The source? The junior attorneys on staff.

Some seasoned attorneys sneer at the idea of learning from newer attorneys, insisting experience is the best teacher and questioning what they could learn from newcomers to the profession. The answer? Perhaps, quite a lot.

Improving Recruitment and Retention Efforts

When was the last time you were recruited? How long has it been since you chose where to work? Organizations change over time, and your experience and information may be dated.

Because they have recently gone through the recruitment process, newly minted attorneys are uniquely positioned to give you feedback about their experience and the factors that influenced their decision to select your offer. And they are already sharing it with one another. Whether or not you choose to hear it, your organization's reputation is a hot topic in the talent market.

The more you understand what is important to these up-and-coming attorneys and what other organizations are doing, the more likely you are to create a culture in which they want to stay. Veteran attorneys observe that younger attorneys are more in touch with how programs are really working. They can tell you if people buy into the message senior attorneys think is being sent.

Contemporary Customer Service

Innovative Use of Technology
Recently graduated attorneys are likely to be technically sophisticated. They know a world of instant, electronic information: the internet, instant messaging, blogs, PDAs, text messaging, and more. These tools are standard equipment for younger attorneys, who use them to find new ways of performing time-sensitive tasks.

"Experienced attorneys can learn how to take advantage of new ways of conducting their work," says Gihan Fernando, dean of career services at the Georgetown University Law Center. "Technology has taught young people to approach problems in different ways than we did even a few years ago. As a result, new attorneys can research matters more effectively, translating into an enormous benefit to clients."

Operations
As newcomers, young attorneys' innocent questions about institutional processes can open the door for system improvements leading to better client service. According to those interviewed, seasoned attorneys who are new to an organization sometimes don't think to ask why things are done in a certain way.

The Practice of Law
Can experienced attorneys really learn from younger attorneys? Two seasoned attorneys say junior attorneys may have valuable contributions that translate into better client service.

"After about 10 years as a partner, I was on a team with two associates," says Jim Sandman, senior partner, Arnold & Porter LLP, and president-elect, District of Columbia Bar Association. "We were all so very different from one another, and we were a much better team for our differences. Of course, some of their suggestions needed polishing, but the ideas they proposed—which I would never have thought of on my own—strengthened our case."

"Younger attorneys have different cultural reference points that are invaluable," adds Douglas B. Mishkin, a partner with Patton Boggs, LLP. "You never know what the judge or jury is attuned to. The client is entitled to the best everyone on the team has to offer."

The three steps of The Flourishing Process™ can help you become more comfortable with the idea of tapping into the wisdom of your newer attorneys.

The Flourishing Process™

 
Clarity: What do you know for sure?

When you are absolutely, positively sure you know something, you may be right. But it is often a sign you have stopped asking questions and are no longer open to new ideas. Ask yourself:

• What am I sure of?
• How could things be different?
• When was the last time I sought additional input? Who was the last person I asked about it?
• What might a junior attorney say that I have not considered?

Choice: What do you choose?
Saying "yes" to something means saying "no" to something else. Are you willing to say "yes" to new opportunities and new ideas? If so, by definition you have said "no" to believing you have all the answers.

Are you willing to say "yes" to soliciting junior attorneys' input? If not, you have said "no" to using the least expensive, easiest method of market research available.

Action: What will you do?
Some organizations have formalized this knowledge exchange through reverse mentoring programs, but an informal approach can work just as well.

• Start by simply asking junior attorneys questions such as, "What do you like about working here?" or, "If you were running the office, what is the first change you would make?" Whether or not you act on what you hear, it is important that you listen carefully and acknowledge the input. It is better not to ask at all than for the responder to feel a contribution has fallen on deaf ears.
• Encourage junior attorneys to speak up, not only by what you say but how you say it. "Every song has lyrics and music," says Mishkin. "If you say you want legitimate input, but your tone conveys you really don't, associates will not believe your words."
• If your organization has employee surveys, look at the data and confirm its accuracy as you talk to your junior colleagues. If the feedback is positive, probe to find out how things could be even better.
• Each day, talk to a different person for a few minutes to hear a diverse range of opinions. This does not need to take a lot of your time. A genuine two-to-three minute conversation will yield more for both of you than an insincere 30-minute meeting.

Better information leads to better decisions, and excluding a rich set of data because of ageist stereotypes or maintaining policies because "that's the way it has always been done" does not lead to the best decisions. In fact, it has the effect of creating organizations that are less attractive to employees, and the word spreads fast. The wisest lawyer knows that no one of any age has a monopoly on smarts, new ideas, or creative ways of approaching things.

SIGN UP D&B Brief—Free Teleclass Do you want to: Improve your recruitment and retention efforts? Innovate your client service? If you answered "yes!" to any of these questions, join us for a fun-filled hour to learn skills and tactics for removing the roadblocks that keep your organization from maximizing employee and client satisfaction. Date & Time: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 4:00 p.m. (eastern standard time) The teleclass is free, but you must register in advance. Register online at www.mcca.com. Would you like free individual coaching? We are looking for volunteers to participate in this teleclass. Volunteers must work in a corporate law department or a firm. If you are interested in volunteering, please send an email with your name and phone number to info@TheFlourishingCompany.com. We will consider all responses in the order received, and contact you if you are selected.

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From the March/April 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar^®