Fostering a culture of support and transparency in law firms

I am showing my age here, but there is a great line in the film, ‘About A Boy’, where Hugh Grant’s self-obsessed bachelor is told “no man is an island” and he responds, “I am! I’m Ibiza!” Of course, Hugh Grant (it is difficult to separate him from his characters) goes on a journey and learns that he is not in fact 'Ibiza,' or an island at all.

No lawyer is an island. No lawyer should feel alone, that there is too much responsibility on their shoulders or that they have no support. No lawyer should feel that the world is coming to an end when they make a mistake.

Senior lawyers have a responsibility to support junior lawyers and each other too. I remember starting the third of my four seats of my training contract, in the media team at the firm I trained at. I was sitting with a Partner who was an outstanding lawyer, but also a very good bloke. One of the first things he said to me was "if you ever make a mistake, tell me; normally it can be fixed."

It was said in a way that communicated that mistakes happen, particularly when juniors are learning the ropes. But he also said it as a mechanism to protect the client, the firm and myself from the larger threat of a mistake being made and nothing being said.

Speaking up may be particularly difficult in a working environment that is competitive rather than collegiate. Many, not all, lawyers are competitive by nature. They would have been academically strong and rising through the ranks of a firm requires a degree of tenacity. Large groups of that personality profile can create an environment where mistakes ‘don’t happen.’

However, mistakes are unavoidable. They may usually be trivial or unimportant, but they are inevitable.

Nobody should be hung out to dry for owning up to making a mistake. People may also make mistakes together, either because of inadequate systems and processes, a lack of training, being exhausted or lacking supervision. None of those things are solely the fault of the individual.

So what holds back lawyers communicating with each other when a file is ‘heading in the wrong direction’ or where a mistake has been made?

Almost none of it is ego. Well, not the ego of the individual who hasn’t fessed up. They will be carrying the stress home with them, feeling that they are unable to tell their colleagues for fear of the consequences of an objective interpretation of whether or not the issue can be fixed. In regards to the latter, there is something inherently human about simply not wanting to know if something can be fixed or not, in case it can’t.

Equally, there is trepidation as to what the repercussions will be for making that mistake. Will it ruin their internal reputation and mean that colleagues are not prepared to give them further work? Will it inhibit promotion? Will it prevent a bonus? Will it mean termination? Will the firm lose the client? One hundred miles an hour, these type of thoughts will fly through the mind of the stressed or perhaps panicked individual.

It is obvious that the environmental and structural issues within a law firm are to blame for lawyers not coming forward when an issue arises.

Workplace culture is the aggregate of the behaviours of those that work in a business. It is not something that can easily be set from the top down. Making a few misjudged hiring decisions can make the environment unproductive, sometimes toxic. The majority of firms are not toxic. But many have environments that are not conducive to enabling honesty and transparency in the workplace.

Fear of making a mistake means that some lawyers will spend greater time producing work than they can reasonably bill the client. Indeed, I have spoken to lawyers that deliberately hide that time from Partners as they do not want to be seen as being 'inefficient.'

I was once on the other side of a lease transaction where the lawyer on the other side was clearly over-worked and hugely stressed. Indeed, they ended up going on sabbatical for six months after the matter completed. Stress plays a huge role in our happiness, ability to concentrate and productivity.

Transparency and honesty are values that ought to flow through the core of the firm and its lawyers. Accurate and honest billing, untainted by the pressure on Associates to churn the clock and without illusory, mythical Partner time being added for their “contribution” on the matter. The values also play a part in how our team interacts with each other, being an antidote to the competitive, aggression and creating a working environment where people trust and respect each other.

Finally, clients deserve not just transparent and honest billing, but frank advice. Advice that is client focused, cost proportionate and pragmatic. With no unnecessary work and advice that provides a recommended way forward, not just a list of options. Sitting on the fence and letting the client decide blind is not an honest way to run a professional services business.

Of course, even if Hugh Grant were an island, Ibiza is probably a good example of how even islands are necessarily linked to other places. There has been a port on Ibiza since 654 BC and the island produced and exported dye, salt, garum (fermented fish sauce) and wool. Ibiza became a major trading post along the Mediterranean shipping routes. Even if a lawyer identifies as an island, they still need to communicate, work with and interact with others. No lawyer should feel isolated, over-burdened or feel frightened to communicate when something goes wrong.

There is an alternative to the norm. That can be through building a working environment that is supportive in nature and minimises stress on lawyers, which can helps them be more productive. When a colleague needs help, the team should meet that need. No one should be thrown under the bus for something that can be rectified. Talking together about client work and business decisions means everybody can have their say.

Cumulatively, that environment is a place where individuals can come forward and be honest.