Robin Hensley, Raising the Bar

Over 13 years as managing partner, W. Lee Thuston saw Burr & Forman expand from 166 attorneys to more than 300 as the firm extended its footprint across the Southeast. Along the way, he became the go-to matchmaker between Alabama and automakers, advising in negotiations that brought in manufacturing plants for Mercedes, Honda and Hyundai, along with thousands of high-paying jobs. Thuston and the manufacturing team at Burr & Forman have played a critical role in attracting major economic development projects to locate and expand in the South, resulting in $20 billion in capital investment and the creation of more than 25,000 jobs. With a track record like that, it's understandable that nobody at Burr wanted to see Thuston cut back his role at the firm. So, when Thuston started talking about succession planning, he found that nobody at the firm wanted to talk about it. “People would wave me off and say, 'That's years away,'” he says. But as Thuston moved into the shadow half of his 60s, he told his colleagues firmly that the time had come to plan for a leadership transition. The efforts came to fruition a year ago. Recognizing the demands of managing a larger firm in an increasingly competitive legal space, the firm went a step beyond replacing Thuston and created an expanded leadership structure. Thurston moved to the new, strategic position of chairman and named Birmingham partner Ed Christian as CEO, effectively the new day-to-day managing partner. Atlanta office managing partner Erich Durlacher became president, and the firm tasked him with overseeing all practice groups. The shared leadership responsibilities allow all three to maintain their practices. Consensus, Transparency and Democracy These changes were implemented without any drama. Thuston says he and the executive committee approached succession planning the same way they have led the firm every day. “Our approach always has been to be democratic in our decisions, to strive for consensus and to be transparent. Those values have served us well in running the firm, and they worked in planning for the leadership transition,” he says. Thuston knew succession doesn't always go smoothly at law firms. Bruised egos can take a long time to heal, and sometimes firms take years to recover from the fallout that can accompany transitions. “I was determined that would not be us,” he says. Although there were obvious candidates for new leadership roles, Thuston refused to recommend one to the executive committee. “I said this needs to be a consensus driven by the partners.” The executive committee formed a search committee and talked individually over two years to partners in the firm's 12 offices. Succession also became a regular topic at monthly partner meetings, and several themes emerged. Continuity was one concern, especially among older partners. Lawyers of all ages are uncomfortable with change, Thuston says, because they are trained to be risk averse. Maintaining the firm's values and culture became priorities. Over time, the same two names—Christian and Durlacher—kept coming up. The process was time-consuming. But by the time succession was put to a vote, there was a consensus. “We had a 100 percent vote for Ed and Erich,” Thuston says, “because we had already worked out all the issues.” Recognizing Leaders Early on, the conversations with partners focused on the qualities they wanted in leaders. Good people skills were a given, but partners also wanted someone who was successful and had earned respect for his or her practice and was regarded well by clients. There also was a recognition that a prospective firm leader is someone who already is helping others build their practices and has a “firm mentality.” Above all, says Thuston, a leader needs common sense. As discussions progressed, partners agreed that Christian and Durlacher checked all those boxes. Christian, 49, and Durlacher, 46, sit on the firm's executive committee. Next generation leaders have assumed other positions in the firm, including the recent appointment of 35-year-old C. Tucker Herndon as the firm's Nashville office managing partner. New Leadership But Preserving Old Ties Thuston is as busy as ever, and on a recent day he was helping a manufacturing client plan a major expansion and scheduling trips to visit clients across the Southeast. He has no plans to retire, but over the past five years he has moved 80 percent of his billing to other lawyers who will take over his work when that day comes. He turned 69 in January, and there was talk in the firm of changing the mandatory de-equitization age of 70 to accommodate him. He will have none of it. “It's healthy to have a cutoff, and I don't think there should be exceptions, even for me,” he says. “I'll stay on and do the things I enjoy, knowing that we have the right leadership in place to carry us forward.” Robin Hensley's column is based on her work as president of Raising the Bar and coaching lawyers in business development for more than 25 years. She is the author of "Raising the Bar: Legendary Rainmakers Share Their Business Development Secrets."