Are You Teaching Your Young Associates to "Think Like a Client?"
Yesterday I wrote that the old associate dream of just getting hours and keeping their senior lawyer happy no longer works in this economy. In many firms leaders tell their associates: “We just want you to do good work.” In other words, the last thing on earth they would want you to do is to spend time building relationships with clients and potential clients. That culture is fine until the economy tanks as it has recently, those firms lay off associates and income partners who "just do good work."
What is the problem with just having associates do good work? When brand new associates finish law school, generally the best that can be said is that they have been taught through the Socratic Method “to think like a lawyer.” They have not been taught what it is like to be a lawyer and certainly have not been taught to “think like a client.” Yet, everything we do as lawyers, even dull and boring document reviews, is being done for a client.
I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with firms whose leaders want their associates to learn about client development. Many of those firms start programs early in the associates' careers. I have the opportunity to coach many of the associates as they move toward partnership. The associates in the firms for whom I work know that the firm leaders want them to learn client development skills.
If you want your firm to do client development programs for your junior associates, focus on these three main areas:
- Developing plans with written goals for their non-billable time. Effective time planning and time management is the starting point for successful client development.
- Writing, speaking and networking skills. Lawyers need to become visible and credible to potential clients. I see many articles and blog posts that are intellectually stimulating, but not likely to be read by potential clients.
- People skills and relationship building. Your young lawyers need to know how clients select lawyers and what clients want. They need to be taught to ask good questions and actively listen to answers. They need to work on building relationships by developing trust and rapport. This skill is increasingly important as email, text messages and social media become more popular.
I know first hand from my experience working with associates throughout the country that when they have the opportunity to learn client development skills, they are more energized about their billable work. They also appreciate that their firm has invested in them. Many associates I have coached have become partners in their firms and they are passing down what they have learned to the young associates in their offices.
