In
firms that have the managing partner style of management, the managing partner has the
responsibility of managing the practice of law in servicing your clients. The managing partner also has
the responsibility of managing the law firm as a business and may or may not have an executive director
or firm administrator to assist with these duties and those duties of firm administration
We shared some thoughts recently at a management seminar of some 50 managing partners and felt our clients might also be interested in our thoughts.
It is easy to manage when everything is going smoothly. Life is good! When problems arise they are usually people problems. Some can be very difficult to deal with and you wonder if it is really worth the effort to try to modify behavior.
Keep in mind that your firm's greatest asset as well as your largest investment is in having competent professionals and staff. They need to work together as a team to solve your clients' problems and find the most cost effective best solution to your clients' needs.
As managing partner you must not back away from facing even the most complex person problem directly.
While most problems fall into the larger categories of power, control, emotions, ego, communications, harassment, productivity or compensation, how much energy you spend will vary by position and tenure of the individual.
How you deal with problem individuals will also vary with the type of problem. Stress, depression, emotional problems, divorce, health issues, death of a family member, dependency and loss of a major client require a great amount of sensitivity. After initial discussions, the managing partner needs to determine if he or she is the right person to deal with this type of issue or can it be handled more appropriately by someone outside the firm.
Problem individuals involved with sexual harassment, gender bias, discrimination and substance abuse must be dealt with immediately when the act reaches your attention. Individuals may or may not be given a second chance but as managing partner you and/or your executive director must take immediate corrective action. Having current written appropriate behavior guidelines in place makes the job easier. Repetition of such behavior cannot be tolerated.
Problem individuals who play the power or control game, partners who "bully" associates, paralegals or staff, partner secretaries who terrorize other staff during their partner's absence, and attorneys who use attempted intimidation practices on others need to be counseled immediately. Depending on the reaction to the counseling, you might chose to give them some outside help in modifying their behavior. You may also need to solicit assistance from other key partners to get a strong partners' attention that his/her behavior is detrimental to the firm.
Lesser than acceptable quantitative and/or qualitative performance; partners practicing outside their area of expertise; partners who constantly are unhappy with firmwide decisions or compensation; senior associates who refuse to help train or develop younger associates; partners who are excellent trial lawyers but refuse to follow any firm rules; partners who either charge too much or give away their work product; and partners who have made great contributions to the firm in the past but refuse to cooperate in transitioning ownership or authority even when time has passed them by are scenarios that occupy the most time of managing partners. In these cases, managing partners need to be decisive without being divisive. Not an easy task! Sometimes organizational realignment is a solution. Sometimes reiterating required performance standards is enough. Sometimes getting someone from the outside to counsel with the problem partner is the right solution. When you have decided you can no longer expend firm's resources in changing inappropriate behavior the only solution left is terminating the partner.
In every instance the managing partner needs to hold fast to the fact that she or he is charged with man- aging the entire firm. We stand ready to assist you in any of the above scenarios when so requested.