Looking back at my recent postings I’ve noticed that it has been a considerable period of time since I wrote anything particularly controversial or without an obvious link to the Legal Process Outsourcing industry. It was never the intention of this blog simply to regurgitate news from within the LPO industry itself without offering at the very least some level of insight, comment and personal perspective. So before I head off to Texas for this year’s ILTA convention I’m utilizing this forum to report, tie together and comment on two particularly interesting articles that have circulated the internet over the last week or so, as well as an earlier piece I wrote for this blog on the UK magic circle firm, Eversheds', report entitled "Law Firm of the 21st Century.” Click
here for my previous blog post. This article discusses if in the light of growing economic pressures, law firm redundancies, increasing numbers of graduates and the emergence of legal outsourcing, US and UK law students are being prepared adequately for success in the real world.
Initially I chose not to comment on the piece from last week’s Lawyer.com highlighting Eversheds’ decision to offshore low-level legal work to India. While I applaud my colleagues within the LPO space for joining me in blogosphere (the more the merrier as far as I’m concerned), the downside is that there is an inordinate amount of duplication. By the time I’d even finished reviewing the article virtually every legal blogger out there appeared to have already posted a verbatim copy of the original Lawyer.com piece, so I declined to add my two cents worth. I would be astounded if many of my readers have not yet read the original piece or a blog review of it. However if by some strange quirk you haven't click
here.
I read the news of course with interest and filed it away under “Another Law Firm Goes Public on LPO”. Anyway, my mind drifted back a few days later to the Eversheds' article only after stumbling across a posting on Law.com that in turn referenced a delightful article by Michael Rappaport in the Lawyers Weekly Canadian online journal. Click
here for the full piece. The article discusses how a law firm can identify potential recruits that come within the descriptive category of Rainmakers. Perhaps the utilization of this term is more prevalent on this side of the pond. Although I thought I had an understanding of it, I was in fact unaware that it is so closely associated with success within the legal profession. Dictionary.com defines a rainmaker as:
an executive or lawyer with exceptional ability to attract clients, use political connections and increase profits.
The article itself further comments that rainmakers are the lawyers who excel at selling the firm’s services, schmoozing at networking events and swaying new clients and provides conjecture on how a law firm can determine if a potential associate or partner possesses these prized attributes. The focus of the article thus appeared to concentrate on assisting a law firm in identifying those candidates who are or could turn out to be rainmakers. According to the article, Dr. Larry Richard, a lawyer-psychologist and director of Hildebrandt International's Leadership and Organization Development program, has developed a test based on the Caliper Profile, a multiple-choice test that uses 18 base personality traits to assess a lawyer's rainmaking skills. Although he cautions against substituting his testing methodology for in-depth interviews and background checking it is clear that he is advocating identification of rainmaking traits as an essential element in the recruitment process.
I would like to take the discussion one stage further back to contemplate the reasoning behind why a law firm today more than ever would actively seek to recruit rainmakers and whether these skills can be taught, or whether by their very nature, these are skills that are developed and honed over years of practice after entering the big wide world.
If we all cast our minds back just a little further, you may recall that I posted a piece back in June reviewing a research report entitled Law Firm of the 21st century, commissioned by none other than Eversheds. The timing of their detailed study and subsequent announcement of expansion into India as purveyors of LPO services may be coincidental; however, I take my hat off to the firm for genuinely appearing to take heed of the report’s findings. Well over half of the clients surveyed identified controlling legal costs and achieving value for money as the major challenge. Congruence of opinion was apparent on the issue of commoditization and standardization being important trends affecting the legal profession generally. Most partners and clients agreed on this issue but felt that this was for “bread and butter” routine legal work.
So for the purposes of this discussion let us take a few points as read. We know that major corporate clients are concerned about rising legal costs in the face of a struggling economy. It is also apparent that the UK magic circle firms and many of the AmLaw 200 have woken up, smelled the coffee and are actively pursuing the outsourcing of legal work to India. Although I have had discussions with several of my peers within the LPO industry on this very point, the most commonly, and oftentimes successfully “outsourceable” legal work is that very work affected by the commoditization and standardization of the legal profession, i.e. the “bread and butter” work. In addition, it appears to be generally accepted that the market for newly qualified attorneys is more saturated than ever before, at a time when, if recent headlines are to be believed, major firms on both sides of the Atlantic have been talking redundancies.
I paused while writing this piece to stroll down the corridor and obtain some first-hand perspective from one of LawScribe’s young US attorneys. My initial intention was to discuss the changes that had taken place in the study of law in the decade between the completion of our respective degrees. It was apparent following our little chat that the discussion should have focused on the lack of changes, as there had been virtually none!
I was somewhat taken aback when we agreed to the extent that we did on the overriding importance of rainmaking skills. My preconceived belief was that having recently qualified, my colleague would possess a much higher level of confidence in the “system” as it is. This was not the case. There was however, clear divergence as to whether these skills were in fact “teachable” within the University context. I believe firmly that there is insufficient emphasis placed on the development of rainmaking skills within the law degree. In today’s cut and thrust economy, with law firms and corporations starting to tighten their belts, Universities must take an increased level of responsibility in helping mould young attorneys so that they are capable of hitting the ground running on day one with an understanding of the requisite qualities necessary to succeed in the business that is law.
The J.D. adopts the Case (a method of studying landmark cases) and Socratic methods (a method of examining students on the reasoning of the court in the cases studied) as its didactic approach. I am not advocating for one moment the removal of this structured form of tuition, however I question whether it alone, given the market forces discussed above, is sufficient adequately to prepare young lawyers for the real world. It is all well and good being able to regurgitate case law and to construct a written legal argument, but there are people all around the world who can also do this at a much lower cost and to whom we are now easily connected.
Insufficient time is spent on practical client interviews, networking skills, understanding the business of running a law firm, communication and negotiation techniques. Yes, all newly qualified attorneys are aware of the billing requirements soon to be incumbent upon them, but do they understand why these requirements exist? Are any law students able to learn about alternative billing structures, the history of the hourly rate, fixed fees, fee-capping arrangements and how billing accurately and clearly for the provision of legal services can actually be utilized as a marketing tool in attracting clients? Do any Law courses require their students to prove their mettle within a networking situation? Would it be impossible to replicate a networking event or to send students to such events with a variety of goals to be achieved? I concur that many of these skills are in fact honed over time, but that does not diminish their ever-increasing importance and the role that these skills can play in guiding young lawyers’ careers to the top of the ladder. The line of argument that certain skills are developed over time in a practical context is not limited purely to those that come within the “rainmaking” category. Irrespective of the quality of law school and writing skills of a particular student, it would be foolish to argue that any individual upon graduation is the “finished article” as a legal writer. Taking this one stage further, if rainmaking skills are reaching the point whereby proficiency in them becomes more important and desirable to a potential employer than, say, some of the more traditional skills, surely more attention should be paid to them within the University context?
Are these skills innate or can they be learned? If they can be taught, how do you identify the areas that require work? While I believe that individuals with certain personality traits are more inclined to develop over the years, and off their own accord, impressive rainmaking skills, this by no means detracts from my position that it is negligent for Universities to leave everyone else by the wayside. If testing exists, that can identify potentially desirable rainmaker recruits, and we know now that it does, then surely it is possible to “study” in advance of such testing. I know that I have several friends within the academic world who occasionally offer me the grace of reading some of my posts and I invite theirs' and of course all my readers’ comments as to how best to prepare law students for the reality of modern legal practice, in light of the fundamental changes currently taking place within the profession.
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