National Women in Law Awards: Kimberly Rathbone
Rathbone Group LLCPartner (Since 2014)
December 03, 2018 at 07:00 AM
3 minute read
What was your route to the top? I wanted to be anything besides a lawyer. My professional life started out in the television industry where I worked as a production assistant and sports reporter. A longing to go home to Cleveland and a feeling that I should have considered law school after all led me to apply, and a scholarship made it a reality. After law school at Cleveland Marshall College of Law, I worked for a large Ohio law firm, but didn't fit into the culture. I needed something more entrepreneurial to flourish. After working for another firm and helping exponentially grow the subrogation department, I found that spirit at Rathbone Group, LLC (RG). In 2014, a few of my best friends, my father, and I all founded RG with the intention of being laser focused on the niche practice of subrogation. Today, our contingency fee practice has grown into an international one where we handle pre-suit recovery and litigation management across the entire United States, Canada, and the U.S. Islands.
What keeps you up at night? (i.e. What are your biggest business-related concerns?) Just like our clients, finding ways to reduce risk and increase control are a large focus for RG. We have thousands of open claims at a time, so our smaller firm has large responsibilities. Our business plans include several ways to reduce risk and increase control including: Expand the in-house coverage to several more states, many of which have been difficult to find subrogation counsel; Continue our focus on security with our CISSP security manager, an unusual investment for a smaller law firm such as RG; Keep challenging ourselves with technology through our COO with an extensive software development background and consciousness on business continuity; Increase scrutiny over the independent contractors we are currently utilizing; Provide additional product offerings as part of our business relationship such as free adjuster CE classes, webinars, podcasts, and YouTube videos.
What is the best leadership advice you provided, or received, and why do you think it was effective? My father told me that, in business, decisions are just decisions with varying consequences for each that can often be corrected. Not making a decision is also a decision with its own consequences, but no control. This realization gave me the freedom to make difficult decisions and move on. Of course, I still do due diligence to make the best decision, but I am no longer paralyzed by fear that it might be the wrong one.
Looking back, what do you wish you had known when you started out in the legal profession? The list of what I wish I had known could go on forever. I certainly wish I had more confidence when I was younger. I also wish I had known: that I could trust my instincts; that my judgment of character is solid; that, in business, being hard-working, fair, and respectful to others will draw more trust than winning any popularity contest; that people can tell when you are trying to do the right thing, even if there are missteps along the way.
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