“ I wish someone would have told me early on in my career about the tremendous amount of time, mostly non-billable, that needed to be exerted on client development.”
Jeffrey B. Jones Offi ce Managing Shareholder LITTLER MENDELSON
Littler is the largest global employment and labor law practice with more than 1,000 attorneys in over 60 offi ces worldwide. Littler represents management in all aspects of employment and labor law and has served as a single-source solutions provider to the global employer community for more than 70 years.
K
MCCA.COM
NOW YOUR CRAFT. YOU MUST HAVE A VERY good understanding of your area practice. T at is a given. However, law students and new attorneys must understand the business aspects of any law fi rm/practice and the importance
of establishing relationships early on which will lead to... clients. T is is not emphasized enough. I wish someone would have told me early on in my career about the tre- mendous amount of time, mostly non-billable, that needed to be exerted on client development. T e focus was mostly on billable time. While meeting billable hours standards is a must to keep the status quo, it is not enough to advance your career and get you into leadership/management roles within the fi rm. T ere are three keys to advancement and success in the
legal profession: • Be extremely responsive— you are not the only lawyer in town;
• Have a good book of business— you will always have work to do; and
• Be a good fi rmcitizen— being a team player is not overrated.
Achieving these goals takes an enormous amount of eff ort and time; however, if you do not have all three there
will always be a glass ceiling that will limit your potential. Lastly, you have to be very focused and organized to bal-
ance your time needed to succeed at work along with time spent with family. T is is a skill set that is diffi cult to man- age. I would encourage all new attorneys to jump on top of this right away. Seek advice from senior attorneys who are successful at both. Success at work is desired so that your family can have a better quality of
life...at least that is what keeps my engine clicking on all cylinders.
The Final Word While your path may diff er from others in the fi eld, there are some basics that stand the test of time. Making it to the top of the law profession requires tenacity tempered with instinct, ethics and good judgment. Consider the words of wisdom from those who have been in the trenches and have refl ected on their journey—their success.
D&B
Dianne Hayes is a freelance writer/editor based in Maryland who specializes in diversity issues, education and STEM. She can be reached at
Hayesassociates@comcast.net.
JULY/AUGUST 2014 DIVERSITY & THE BAR® 41
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