Frank McKinney Hubbard, the American journalist, humorist and cartoonist, once wrote, “Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny.” In this second of a two-part series, I offer my humble observations on law firm management, drawn from more than 10 years as the partner in charge of the San Francisco office of a national law firm. I have distilled these comments into the Sixteen Commandments of law office management. Part one addressed SALY management, the three steps to every decision, deal euphoria and other lessons learned the hard way. This second addresses commandments nine through 16. It is my hope that these commandments will help you avoid making bad management the destiny of your law office.
9. Neapolitan ice cream isn’t always the best choice
I love ice cream; I always have. When I was a kid, once in a while, my mother would let my brothers and me pick the flavor of ice cream at the supermarket. Predictably, one of us would want one flavor, another would want a second, and the other would want a third flavor. After letting us argue for a few minutes over the best flavor, my mother would step in and pick Neapolitan ice cream: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. “Now, everyone will be happy,” she would say, proud of the decision. Not quite. Despite her best intentions, she had only assured that no one was happy. In making decisions affecting your law firm, be wary of choosing Neapolitan ice cream. The split-the-baby decision is not always the best decision, nor is it the choice that will make everyone happy. To be sure, often a compromise is the best decision. But very frequently, a tough choice simply needs to be made and a middle-ground solution will only leave everyone unhappy.
10. Don’t judge a book by its cover
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
