Robin Hensley, Raising the Bar

Scott M. Bryant has never been a person to stand on the sidelines. At law school, he chaired the Virginia Society for Law and Technology. As an undergrad, he was a student leader who served on the Honor Court. Before beginning law school, he worked as a management and technology consultant and started a record label. He has thrown himself into the causes and organizations he supports, such as Georgia Appleseed. So perhaps it was no surprise that he was elected to the management committee at Hutchison PLLC, a 20-attorney life sciences and technology boutique with offices in Atlanta; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Gainesville, Florida.

“I really had a desire to serve the firm,” says Bryant, who adds that he loves the challenge of being in the nerve center of the firm. He has been one of three co-managing partners since 2017—time enough to look back at his decision and offer perspective to others who may be considering such a commitment.

A 25 to 35 Hours a Month Role

The first consideration is time, he says. Every month is different, but typically Bryant's management role adds 25 to 35 hours of nonbillable work to his schedule and often more. That is more than he expected, and he says he continues to maintain billable hours in line with what he billed before taking the leadership position.

Already an organized person, he says the extra demand on his time has made him hyper focused on buttoning up. He describes himself as data driven and says he “lives by my workflow spreadsheets and calendar.” He constantly looks for matters that he can push down to others and budgets his management time so that it doesn't force him to sacrifice other items on his weekly to-do list.

Still, there frequently is a fire to extinguish.

The management committee meets every Tuesday morning at 9, with meetings going up to a couple of hours. He takes a few hours on Friday afternoon to see if everything is on track, then sets aside time Sunday afternoon to look forward to the next week.

“I have a wife who is a lawyer, and an 8-year-old daughter, as well as my personal practice. That may sound like a lot, but you learn to manage your time. Lots of people juggle demands on their time, and you can make it work.”

Shared leadership makes it easier.

It helps that the firm has created a management structure that distributes responsibilities among three partners. Bryant oversees marketing and business development. Another partner is in charge of recruiting and HR matters, and a third handles finances and strategy. Clear lines between the co-managing partners' responsibilities and regular communication make the shared leadership work, Bryant says, and the ability for each to specialize in one area makes for more informed and more efficient decisions. The arrangement takes what would be a burdensome responsibility for one person and scales it to three manageable pieces.

Each co-managing partner has discretion to make certain day-to-day decisions and brings larger matters before the committee on Tuesday morning. Big ticket issues are reserved for discussion at partner meetings. All three co-managing partners are elected to staggered three-year terms by the equity partners, which provides continuity but also gives the partners regular input into leadership.

Do clients care?

Clients care mainly that their lawyer is responsive and getting the work done to their satisfaction, Bryant says, but beyond that they like to see that their lawyer is heavily invested in the firm and the profession. “Many of my clients are entrepreneurs, and they like the fact that I am involved in running a business. Like them, I am thinking about compensation issues, finance, customer relationships and growth. They appreciate that commonality.”

Is management for you?

Bryant enjoys management and plans to stay in it as long as the partners support him. But he cautions that it's not for everyone and that lawyers shouldn't take on management just because the title flatters them. Here's what to consider before jumping into management:

• Be realistic about the time commitment. Best practices and personal organization will only go so far.
• Keep your priorities straight. Bryant says his family comes first and the firm second. It's easy to say that but, as a client sometimes reminds him, “You can make more money, but you can't make more time.”
• Do it for the right reasons. You have to really want to commit significant time and energy to the stewardship of the firm. Besides the time commitment, there are hard decisions, and you won't always make everyone happy. Lawyers who want to fill up their CV with leadership positions would be better off joining a bar or civic organization, he says. “If 'me first' is your orientation, this may not be for you. You have to genuinely approach this with the welfare of the firm and your colleagues first in your mind.”

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.”