New York Lawyer
December 5, 2002

Q:
How is it reasonable for any large firm to expect associates to "generate business" in order to become a partner?

Who is going to hire a 5th year lawyer and pay her $300+ an hour to work on their case when they can hire better talent for less or even get a partner (if the matter is worth big bucks)?

Seems to me that anyone without family "connections" or some other way "in" which has nothing to do with intellectual skill or legal skills is pretty much screwed.

How is someone without such connections ever supposed to succeed?

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A:

Watching colleagues who seem to have an unearned �in� make strides in the workplace while you don�t have the same automatic cachet can indeed be frustrating. This probably fits squarely in the �life isn�t fair� category. That said, there�s plenty you can do to make the playing field a little more even.

First, you need to develop some confidence in your own worth. If you�re not sold on yourself it�s going to be hard to get anyone else interested. So buck up.

Second, remember that many, many people have been in the same spot and triumphed. �Everyone except a small percentage of people with great contacts from family is faced with that situation,� says Phyllis Weiss Haserot, president of Practice Development Counsel in Manhattan, which provides business development and organizational effectiveness consulting and coaching to law firms.

�Most business generators today did not start with great family contacts. They went and made contacts through their own initiative. They keep up with school classmates, they join organizations, they develop trusting relationships with clients for referrals to others, they impress opposing counsel in a matter, they start a peer networking group, and they get to know and cultivate people met in all circumstances in their lives. Of course, this means having interests outside the office and being interested in getting to know people and their needs.�

Haserot also points out that you can generate business by bringing in clients outside your area of expertise � have another lawyer work on the matter, and work out a blended rate. And don�t think to yourself that a matter is �too small,� she advises.

If it�s profitable, it�s good, and in any event any kind of business generation helps get the associate into the swing of things and accustomed to rainmaking.

Above all, she emphasizes, be visible to the partnership that you are trying hard. Some law firms actually do take that effort into account.

Sincerely,
Holly English
Principal Consultant, Values at Work