Introduction
Core Ideology
Business Goals and Strategies
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BUSINESS GOALS AND STRATEGIES
Business Goals: |
To be widely regarded as one of the premier law firms in the United States. Our success will be measured not only by our profitability, size and client base, but also by the depth of our clients' satisfaction and the loyalty and commitment of our attorneys to our firm. |
Our Statement of Values and Business Strategies more fully explains our Core Ideology and how it relates to our business strategies of:
BUILDING STRONG CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS
BUILDING A COHESIVE AND EFFECTIVE BUSINESS
BUILDING A COLLEGIAL AND FUN
ENVIRONMENT
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1. The Genius of "And": Although most law firms are completely satisfied with achieving
financial success, we have decided that success is only one of our
primary goals. Our other principal goal is to build a firm that creates
enthusiasm, loyalty and commitment among our attorneys. In many
ways, these goals conflict with each other. For example, the relentless
drive of many firms to maximize their bottom line often results in
policies that negatively impact job satisfaction. And, not surprisingly,
reduced job satisfaction often translates into diminished enthusiasm,
loyalty and commitment of employees, which can impair excellent
client service, which in turn can threaten the success of the firm.
Conversely, a high degree of job satisfaction will dramatically increase
the enthusiasm, loyalty and commitment of employees, which substantially magnifies the chance of the firm succeeding.
Consequently, we have concluded that our success and job
satisfaction are mutually dependent and integrally related rather
than competing forces.
By seeking to have our cake and eat it too, we have rejected the
tyranny of the "or" and embraced the genius of the "and." Instead of
choosing between our success and job satisfaction, we are dedicated to
figuring out ways to have both. In pursuing both, we are not trying to
balance the two, which would imply going to the midpoint, fifty-fifty,
half and half. Rather, we seek both to an extreme, at the same time, all
the time. Irrational? Perhaps. Rare? Yes. Difficult? Absolutely. But
as F. Scott Fitzgerald pointed out, "The test of a first rate intelligence is
the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and
still retain the ability to function."
2. We will achieve excellence:
We are adherents to the cliché that "if something is worth doing, it is
worth doing well." We simply cannot achieve the level of success to
which we aspire if we only achieve excellence some of the time. It is
an unyielding but necessary standard. While unfortunate, it is a reality
that excellence can not be achieved at times without sacrifices.
Although we seek to run our business in a way that reduces the
sacrifices required, we recognize that we have to "take the bad with
the good."
3. Honor, integrity and fairness will pervade the firm’s ether: Honor, integrity and fairness are central components of our core values, and we insist on them being incorporated into all aspects of our business. It can take a lifetime to build a reputation for honor, integrity and fairness; however, it can be lost in seconds and, once lost, can not easily (if ever) be regained. Without it, we will never achieve the level of enthusiasm, loyalty and commitment from our attorneys to which we aspire. In our hearts, we all know what honor, integrity and fairness are and we can either rigorously adhere to those principles at all times or join another organization.
4. We will attack complacency:
Complacency is an illness that can easily afflict even the greatest of
organizations. The problem is that it creeps up on you just as your
business is succeeding; indeed, this caustic destroyer of great
organizations is so devious in that it saps the will of the most ironwilled
and talented persons who have, despite unimaginable odds,
achieved amazing success and requires that very person to have the
strength of character to recognize that it is even more of a battle to
stay on top than to get there because…bluntly…where is the
motivation now to come from? There is no silver bullet to insulate
against this disease except to have this value as a constant reminder
to everyone that we can never be complacent – as soon as we
delude ourselves into believing we have won, we will have lost.
5. All of us will "Do the right thing even when it hurts":
There is a freedom and simplicity in this admonishment which we
all make to ourselves. It means that we are relieved from a great
deal of worry and stress. Given a situation, all we need to do is
figure out what is the "right thing to do" and then do it – how very
simple! Of course, the devil is in the details sometimes in figuring
out what is indeed the right thing to do but this sets the framework
for all decisions. Note the phrase "even when it hurts" – sometimes
it does – in those instances it is even more important than ever to
do what is right. Finally, it is important for the attorneys at the firm – management and non-management alike – never to swerve from
this principle. It is worth emphasizing that this admonishment is
not directed only at management but also at every attorney and
other employee of the firm.
6. We expect plain, unvarnished honesty:
Although rose-colored perceptions to the outside world are often
critical to the success of any organization, internally they can be quite
destructive. We need to have the strength of character to be able to
admit when we have failed or made a mistake. Virtually all
organizations shrink from admission of failure. We, instead, will
always strive to identify our failures and use them as learning
experiences. We will shy away from ego stroking. Indeed, our modus
operandi will be to focus not only on what is right but also on what is wrong – for only by knowing what is wrong and fixing it
can we continue to improve. Of course, while we expect
honesty at all times, we also expect the message to be
delivered in a respectful manner. Although respect and
tact can often lessen the sting of unpleasant news, we do
recognize that "plain, unvarnished honesty" can be
painful at times; however, the longer one lives in this
plane of existence, and the longer one is weaned from the
opposite standard of conduct that exists in most of the
outside world, the more one appreciates the benefits of
working and living in a truthful environment.
7. Embrace it or don’t come:
Our entire business model is built around our core
purpose and values. We deeply believe that creating an
organization of people who are passionate about our core
purpose and values will dramatically increase our chances
of success and job (and even life) satisfaction. Although
we are not a cult, we are cult-like in our belief that our
values and purpose are immutable and must be actively
supported by everyone at the firm. Of course, there will
be disagreements about the best way to achieve our goals
and whether any particular action is consistent with our
values, all of which is fine; but, ultimately, we cannot
tolerate anyone at the firm who is not supportive of our
core purpose and values. Although other conflicting
values are perfectly legitimate in other business cultures
(and many other businesses succeed with very different
values), anyone at the firm who is out of sync with our
core ideology will be expunged like a virus. So, our
advice to potential candidates for the firm is not to come
if you do not embrace what we stand for.
BUILDING STRONG CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS
1. We will consistently provide outstanding service to
our clients:
Our success is not only dependent upon delivering
outstanding service to our clients, but on delivering such
service on a consistent and long-term basis. Indeed, it is
perhaps easy to provide outstanding service on a single
matter for a new client; it is up to us as a firm to figure out
how to continue this superb service after the thrill of the
first matter for a new client has long-since dissipated.
2. Outstanding service will be defined by our clients –
not by us:
We have learned that each client has a different desire for
the manner in which legal services are provided to it. We
will not be so arrogant as to believe that we have the
right to decide how services are to be provided; instead,
we will "listen" to our clients and provide them services
in the manner that they wish them to be provided.
Another way to say this is that we will "customize" our
services to the client’s needs and desires.
3. Long-term business relationships with clients
will be sought:
In dealing with our clients, we will seek to build longterm
business relationships as opposed to seeking "oneshot"
matters. We will remind ourselves and our clients
that the first matter is usually the toughest for a law
firm to perform to the client’s expectations;
accordingly, it is in the interest of both the client and
the firm to establish long-term relationships in which
the firm and the client grow their businesses together.
These mutual benefits include increased efficiency for
the benefit of the client and increased stability in
business growth for the firm.
4. We will seek to make our customers our
best salespeople:
There is no better salesperson than a satisfied customer.
It is an essential goal of the firm to turn each client
into an advocate for our success. This means a lot more
than just doing a good job. It means understanding
and satisfying not only the stated needs of our clients
but also their unstated (and even perhaps unknown)
needs. It means learning everything we can about the
business of our clients and thinking of ourselves as
responsible for helping develop the success of our
clients’ businesses.
5. We will market ourselves as a law firm that assists
our clients’ business as opposed to thwarting it:
Although lawyers frequently market themselves as "business lawyers," clients often have a very different
view. In marketing the firm, we will stress that (i) we
are the best at what we do, (ii) we are providing our
services for a reasonable cost, and (iii) we are able to
achieve the results that our clients seek. We will strive
to remember that our clients, particularly in
transactional matters, ordinarily do not benefit by us
bludgeoning the other side into a grudging submission;
instead, our clients ordinarily are better served when we
engineer a friendly and mutually beneficial transaction
where all parties walk away with a positive feeling and a
desire to do business with one another again. Of
course, when our clients prefer an aggressive approach,
as is often the case in litigation matters, we are well
versed in how to effectively deliver that type of service.
6. We will seek to create an atmosphere in which clients have "fun": What an extraordinary concept – that clients would rather do business with a service provider that is enjoyable (even "fun") to work with as opposed to the converse. This seems so obvious that we have adopted it into our business strategies.
BUILDING A COHESIVE AND EFFECTIVE BUSINESS
1. Team-oriented approach:
Although the firm is merely a platform for the success of our
attorneys, our attorneys as individuals do not come first. Rather, we
strongly believe that each attorney’s chances of succeeding (or
becoming more successful) will be dramatically improved if he/she is
part of an enthusiastic team that has a common vision and purpose.
As part of our strategy for creating an enthusiastic team, we adhere
to two fundamental principles: (i) first, put the firm first by
adopting values, strategies and policies that lead to the success of
the firm through relentless teamwork, and (ii) second, allocate the
rewards of our success fairly among our attorneys. For example,
instead of building a "we" culture, many firms tolerate, if not
encourage a "me" culture that, among other things, promotes client
hoarding, discourages cross-selling and focuses primarily on
rainmakers. Although we fully recognize the importance of each
attorney’s efforts to our success and we generously reward everyone
for their contributions to our success, we believe that our goals will
not be achieved unless we consistently work together. As a result,
whether marketing to prospective clients, servicing existing clients,
recruiting new attorneys or pursuing another objective, teamwork is
the foundation of our business model.
2. Incentivize Individuals:
Although we are passionately dedicated to a team oriented
approach, we understand that it is critical to reward each attorney
for his/her success. Yet, how can we both incentivize attorneys for
their individual success but also push everyone to be on the team?
This is tricky and difficult and there is no magic solution. The best
we can do – like any successful "team" – is to recognize that we are
human beings and that most human beings experience joy in
individual success as well as the satisfaction of being part of a
winning team. We cannot forget that as we strive for a team
approach it is also necessary to help all of us feel good about our
success as an individual as well. Ultimately, whether we like it or
not, talented and successful attorneys who feel they are not properly
rewarded will not sacrifice themselves on a long-term basis for the
good of the "team;" instead, these attorneys will leave and take
what we have built together elsewhere.
3. We will seek to make each attorney a salesman for
each other attorney:
Although it is critical for the firm to reward each attorney for
his/her success, it is equally important to reward each attorney for
helping another attorney to succeed. This is because (i)
incentivizing everyone to help each other binds the firm together,
(ii) it is often easier to advocate the talents of another than to advocate one’s own talents, and (iii) it is a basic rule of marketing
that it is nine times easier to expand an existing client than to
create a new one. Indeed our marketing motto "Find a client for
your partner today" is intended to emphasize to all of us, all the
time, how much easier it is to find clients for our partners than
for ourselves.
4. Seek consensus:
As part of our efforts to create a team approach, we seek to build
consensus (with associates as well as partners) on major policies
and strategies whenever possible. Although building a consensus is
often a laborious process, most attorneys want to play a meaningful
role in the management of their firm. More importantly, we have
found that participation in management is not only personally
satisfying for most attorneys but also creates substantial loyalty and
commitment towards the firm, which is a key component of our
long-term success. On the other hand, even though we seek
consensus, it simply is not possible to achieve agreement on all
decisions. Yet, decisions must be made or we will fail miserably. As
a result, we expect each member of the firm to actively support the
decisions of the firm even if he or she disagrees with such decision.
5. Open display of information is encouraged:
Other than the preservation of client confidences, there is no
obvious reason to conceal information regarding the firm from any
of the attorneys. All attorneys will have access to all pertinent
information regarding the firm (including the financial picture).
6. Everyone is encouraged to give constructive criticism: Support staff who come up with ways to do things better that improve our bottom line will be rewarded. Partners are encouraged to suggest to other partners how their business could be better run. Associates are encouraged to think like partners. All will be encouraged to have open minds to the thinking and suggestions of others.
7. Unpopular views may remain unpopular but they
will not be forbidden:
Consistent with our belief that honesty is the best policy, we will
embrace the old saying "I hate what you say but I will defend to the
death your right to say it." We will seek to remember that often
views that at first are unpopular later are proven to have been quite
wise. Accordingly, we are committed to the principle that the
freedom to express opinions will significantly improve our ability to
make the best decisions.
8. Responsibility will be based on ability:
Our partners and senior attorneys are encouraged to
delegate responsibility to junior associate attorneys as
soon as they are able to handle it and not to wait until
they achieve an arbitrary class standing. Some
attorneys advance more quickly than others and those
that are able to handle responsibility early should not
be stifled by arbitrary timing requirements that
constrain their talents by slowing down their ascension.
9. Management will work hard to keep "in touch" with attorneys and staff: It is a classic defect in an organization that management is the "last to know" when the company is in trouble. This is sometimes quite simply because of the view that bad news conveyed from the "rank and file" will result in management "shooting the messenger." We seek to avoid this by, quite simply, not "shooting the messengers" and, indeed, rewarding them for having the courage to convey bad or difficult news to management.
10.All attorneys will be encouraged to think like partners: All of our attorneys are encouraged to think like partners even before they have achieved such status. This will include being vigilant for external circumstances that could help or harm the health of the firm, seeking to develop business (even as a junior associate), treating the firm as a business enterprise that needs to economically benefit from its actions (i.e., get paid for its work), and participating in management of the firm.
11. Money matters:
Although no one would say that money is all that
matters, most people are motivated by the chance to
make additional money. We will not fool ourselves into
believing that the privilege of working for the firm is in
itself worth so much that "money" is not a critical
component of making partners, associates and support
staff happy and motivated. However, to be an effective
incentive, compensation must be fair and motivate
attorneys to do what needs to be done for our success.
Consequently, we have designed a compensation system
that rewards attorneys for taking actions that further
our goals.
12. Business generation is not the whole story:
All partners will shun the view that he/she who
generates the rain makes the rules. Rainmaking will be
taken into account in compensation – that is it.
13. Everyone cannot do everything:
Not everyone has the skills to be a rainmaker. Not
everyone has the skills to complete a complex major
transaction at high speed. The firm will seek to be
flexible enough to be a rewarding place to be for such
extremes as "mega-rainmakers" and talented hard
workers without rainmaking talent.
14.We will recognize the devastating effects of the
Peter Principle and try to avoid it:
The Peter Principle (that employees in an organization
are promoted to their level of incompetence where
they tend to remain) is one that we will be ever vigilant to avoid and root out. We will encourage
everyone to be wary of the insidious effects of the Peter
Principle and use our plain, unvarnished honesty to
solve flare-ups of the Peter Principle whenever they
occur. Imagine, for example, the strength of an
organization in which a talented attorney finally
achieved the role of managing partner (which he was
unable to handle having been "promoted to his level of
incompetence") and stepped down after the honest
suggestions made by his partners that he could best
continue to serve the firm as the talented lawyer he
had been all along.
BUILDING A COLLEGIAL AND FUN
ENVIRONMENT
1. We will treat all personnel with respect:
All attorneys, from the most senior to the most junior,
are expected to treat each other with respect. This
includes partners treating associates civilly even in
adverse situations and attorneys treating support staff
properly. All of our employees are human beings
entitled to respect, even if they are not performing up
to expectations. Disrespect and abuse of attorneys or
staff will not be tolerated – period!
2. We will attempt to balance the needs of the
individual against the needs of the firm:
Management of the firm, when making decisions
which apply to individuals, will seek to neither (i) put
the needs of the individual (however needy) ahead of
the interests of the firm or (ii) heartlessly ignore the
needs of the individual based on the view that
management must think solely of the firm, but will
instead attempt to balance these two conflicting needs
to be consistent with "doing the right thing even when
it hurts." Another way to look at this is that
management cannot conveniently use the interests of
the firm as an excuse to terminate or otherwise
mistreat individuals – management has to do a great
deal more analysis than easily jump to this type of conclusion in an adverse situation.
3. We will have a sense of humor about ourselves:
Only fools take themselves so seriously that they cannot laugh at
themselves. A sense of humor about life and one’s own frailties
makes us better able to relate to our clients and ourselves.
Without a sense of humor, we will not succeed for we will not
have the strength to enjoy our success or to admit and learn from
our failures.
1. We will not be afraid to pioneer new ideas:
It is almost too obvious that organizations in which new ideas are
encouraged are dramatically more likely to succeed than organizations in which rocking the status quo is taboo. Indeed,
although trite, the only constant is change. Those who are
resistant to change inevitably will lose to those who are not afraid
of it. Arrogance and hubris in the belief that our initial success
proves the rightness of our way of thinking, if not checked, will
become the seeds of our destruction. Ironically, almost everyone
has a natural inclination to be "afraid" to pioneer a new idea – for
the obvious reason – what if you are flat out wrong – everyone will
know – and there will be nowhere to hide – it will be embarrassing.
We need to have an atmosphere in which radical ideas (often the
best and the worst of ideas) can flourish – we have to be unafraid
to be wrong sometimes.
2. We will be flexible in our thinking – there is no "box":
We need to be flexible to: (i) the changes in the business world
that change the role of the lawyer, (ii) the fact that that which
works at one time and in one place will not necessarily work in
another time and place, and (iii) the fact that each attorney, in
servicing his/her client, will have to satisfy that client and that
satisfaction may have to be delivered in a unique fashion. Another
way to observe this admonishment is by internalizing the
viewpoint that there are no "boxes" around our abilities except the
voluntarily accepted limitations of operating within the sphere of
our Core Ideology.
3. We will remember that today is a time of incredible opportunity: Today is a time of incredible opportunity. This belief is intended to be timeless – it is always a time of incredible opportunity for those with flexible minds.
4. We encourage our attorneys to gain financial independence: No matter how successful the firm becomes, we realize that there will always be tough times ahead. How we handle those situations will depend, in part, on the financial independence (or lack thereof) of our attorneys. Without financial independence, decisions will be based on the financial necessity of the moment rather than the best choice for the future of the firm. Through financial independence, we can capitalize on downturns in the economy, making those moments times of incredible opportunity rather than times of incredible distress. Although we respect everyone’s right to decide what is best for them, we respectfully encourage our attorneys to save part of their compensation each year "for a rainy day" – as opposed to living paycheck to paycheck – so that we are all better able to weather the storms.
5. We will regularly re-evaluate our goals and strategies:
Strategies and goals may need to be modified periodically to reflect
new business realities. For all we know, putting things as positively
as possible, we will achieve our business goal at some point and
then what? Perhaps our new goal will be to maintain ourselves at
that level or there will be an entirely new goal. Or, putting things
more negatively, it may at some point become clear that we cannot
achieve the goal at hand; in that situation, rather than giving up, it
may make sense to modify that goal or change direction to a goal
that is more achievable. In either case, it is pointless to speculate
before the goal at hand is achieved or failed. We will need to trust
our posterity to make this decision with only one warning – to
ensure that the new goal is one that can be achieved by adherence
to, and within the framework of the Core Ideology. The foregoing
approach is even more obvious when applied to business strategies
– these need to be evaluated on a regular basis, for what works at
one time and place may utterly fail at another time and place.