Category

Leadership

Jul 11
0

Learning and Teaching

By | Blog, Leadership, Mentoring

Mentoring can help you succeed and allow you to help others.

Women’s History Month was in March, and as a female practitioner, it’s a topic that’s usually in the forefront of my mind.

But whether it be in March or any other month, my focus will be on what I can do to continue to celebrate and promote the role of women in the legal profession.

One of the most powerful ways that women can support each other is to serve as mentors to other female attorneys.

I am proud and pleased to be “mentor-rich.” My array of mentors include trial attorney mentors, networking mentors, style mentors, judicial mentors and rainmaking mentors.

These women and men have been instrumental in guiding me through the first nine years of practice, allowing me to land in the wonderful place I am today.

Some of my mentors have played small but important roles in my life. And others have changed my life’s direction completely.

For example, as an undergraduate student, I was involved in the planning of an alumni Law Day.

One of the guests was an esteemed Chicago trademark attorney, and I was tasked to pick her up from the airport. I was mildly irritated at this prospect being that it cut into my … um … studying time, but I soldiered through the 90-minute drive to the airport to escort our prized speaker back to campus.

I was prepared to be miserable and suffer through dry, forced conversation until she was safely tucked away at the campus inn.

I could not have been more wrong.

To say the very least, we hit it off immediately. We chatted the entire time about my aspirations to be a lawyer, her experiences in the practice of law, including being in one of the first classes of women to graduate from her law school, and many other subjects.

The next day, we met again for lunch, and at the end, my new mentor asked me if I had considered applying to her law school alma mater, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.

I had not, but the next thing I knew, I was in Chicago staying with my mentor and visiting my future law school.

This wasn’t the only way that my mentor changed my life. Although recently retired, she continues to share her experiences as a practitioner, advice on how to handle tricky situations and support when I need a cheerleader.

Despite being one of the busiest attorneys I have ever met, this woman dedicated time and energy to me — a young woman from Ohio that she did not have any reason to help — and consequently changed my life.

We don’t have to be at the beginning of our careers to have a mentor, and we don’t have to be at or near the end to serve as one.

At all stages of our careers, we can use the support of another woman who shares our experience and love of the law.

Nor does mentorship have to be a time-consuming endeavor — some of my mentors and I have quick phone calls, e-mails or coffee when time permits, but I know they are there and I know they support me.

In turn, I have hired four female associates during my years leading my law firm.

I have served as a mentor to a woman through the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, and I regularly accept coffee invitations from law students or attorneys looking to connect.

Although I know I am doing something good for the mentee, I also benefit from these exchanges because they invigorate me in my practice and remind me of why I started out on this path to begin with — because I wanted to make a difference.

In this digital age, when most human contact involves looking at a “newsfeed,” it’s understandable that most people feel disengaged and isolated.

Therefore, it’s important that we don’t allow the community we have built to fall prey to separation.

Women must continue to foster relationships that provide support, hope and transfer our knowledge and power so that the presence of law firm women leaders matches our presence in the legal field.

We are much more likely to succeed as friends than as detached individuals or, worse yet, foes.

I challenge you — whether you are a new attorney or 20 years out — to reach out to two other female attorneys: one that you would like to mentor and one that you would like to mentor you.

 

This blog was originally posted on ChicagoLawyerMagazine.com.

Jul 01
0

Look Before You Leap

By | Blog, Leadership, Professionalism

Being a partner is great, but hold on a minute …

In nine years of practice, I feel blessed to have experienced one of the greatest moments of any attorney’s career: I was named a shareholder partner at an established Chicago law firm.

Like many other young lawyers, having that title was something I have long dreamed of. In fact, when other little girls were playing “bride” with their Barbie, mine was blowing off plans with Ken to work on a big lawsuit. When that day finally came, in 2011, I let excitement take over and didn’t realize the reality of what I was getting myself into.

It took some harsh realities to learn that before saying yes to partnership, you should first take measures to investigate your investment in the business and to protect yourself throughout the course of the partnership’s existence — and in the event that you move on, which happened in my case when I decided to set up my own law office in February 2014.

Here’s my advice to any attorney thinking of making the jump from associate to partner.

Have a written partnership contract

Who would operate a business without a written contract defining the rights and obligations of the shareholders?

It may sound crazy, but it is surprising to learn that many attorneys are operating their businesses on an honor system. Although in the short-term this might be the easy way, long-term written documentation of the partnership agreement will avoid confusion and, in the worst case scenario, litigation.

In the event that no agreement is signed, there might be support depending on where you’re based (in Chicago, the Illinois Partnership Act normally controls), but relying on this as a default is not the best idea.

Review the firm’s financial past, present and future

In the excitement of a promotion, who is thinking about finances? Or maybe it feels awkward to ask a superior for financial information. Usually an attorney assumes that there is money to continue operation and that the ship is under the control of a good captain. Do. Not. Do. This.

Ask to see the last five years’ worth of financial statements, including firm tax returns, profit and loss reports, the year-to-date financial statement, a business plan and any other documents your accountant recommends.

Then take these documents to an independent accountant so you can be educated as to what the numbers actually mean.

If your potential future partner refuses or says that any of these documents do not exist (including a business plan), don’t just say no to being a partner, start looking around for a new job. Financial transparency is key.

Have (another) attorney review said document

Have you ever heard the expression “an attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client”? This could not be truer in the context of putting your financial future in your own hands. You are emotionally invested in these decisions and likely have no experience in knowing if you neglected to address a necessary topic or potentially wrote in a provision that nullifies all of the documents.

Having an attorney provide you with advice about the creation of the document or documents will be much less costly than the lawsuit attempting to sort out ambiguous or neglected terms.

If your partner tries to discourage you from seeking outside legal counsel, this is a huge red flag.

Ask questions about the future of the firm

Make sure you find out what your partner’s future vision is for the firm.

How does he or she see succession occurring? Does your partner have an interest in long-term financial sustainability?

How does he or she address saving? Spending? Distributions?

Address the bad times

It is so much fun to address the good times that will be ahead, such as the distribution of assets from all of the money you will no doubt make as a partner.

However, you should address from the beginning your role in the allocation of these funds. Your own accountant is essential, and he or she should be present during quarterly financial reviews and, at the bare minimum, end of year. If your partner balks at this proposition, think about why.

Address your possible future departure, termination, death or injury. It is hard to imagine that you will ever part from your firm (especially if your name is on the door), but you have to include this scenario in your agreement to protect everyone, including your clients and business.

Provide for the allocation of funds, fulfillment of financial obligations and resolution of grievances.

Although none of these provisions may never be necessary, if they do, you will never be sorry that they were addressed outside of a costly legal battle.

 

This blog was originally posted on ChicagoLawyerMagazine.com.

Jun 08
0

The Importance of Mentoring: How Strong is Your Network?

By | Blog, Leadership, Mentoring, Professionalism

I’m passionate about helping other female lawyers flourish in the legal profession and one of the most powerful ways that women can support each other is to serve as mentors to other females in their chosen industries.

I am proud and happy to be ‘mentor-rich’. My array of mentors include trial attorney mentors, networking mentors, style mentors, judicial mentors, and rainmaking mentors. These women and men have been instrumental in guiding me through the first nine years of practice, allowing me to land in the wonderful place I am today. Some of my mentors have played small but important roles in my life, and others have changed its direction completely.

A mentoring story…

As an undergraduate student, I was involved in the planning of an Alumni Law Day. One of the guests was an esteemed Chicago trademark attorney and I was tasked to pick her up from the airport. I was mildly irritated at this prospect being that it cut into my…um…studying time, but I shouldered through the 90-minute drive to the airport to escort our prized speaker back to campus.

I was prepared to be miserable and suffer through dry, forced conversation until she was safely tucked away at the campus inn. I could not have been more wrong. To say the very least, we hit it off straight away. We chatted the entire time about my aspirations to be a lawyer, her experiences in the practice of law, including being in one of the first classes of women to graduate from her law school and many other subjects.

The next day we met again for lunch and at the end, my new mentor asked me if I had considered applying to her law school alma mater, Chicago- Kent. I had not but the next thing I knew I was in Chicago, staying with my mentor and visiting my future law school. This wasn’t the only way that my mentor changed my life – although recently retired, she continues to share her experiences as a practitioner, advice on how to handle tricky situations and support when I need a cheerleader. Despite being one of the busiest attorneys I have ever met, this woman dedicated time and energy to me – a young woman from Ohio that she did not have any reason to help – and consequently changed my life.

We don’t have to be at the beginning of our careers to have a mentor and we don’t have to be at or near the end to serve as one.

At all stages of our careers, we can use the support of another woman who shares our experience and love of our chosen career. Nor does mentorship have to be a time-consuming endeavor- some of my mentors and I have quick phone calls, emails or coffee when time permits, but I know they are there and I know they support me. In turn, I have hired four female associates during my years in leadership of my law firm. I have served as a mentor to a woman through the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois and I regularly accept coffee invitations from law students or attorneys looking to connect. Although I know I am doing something good for the mentee, I also benefit from these exchanges because they invigorate me in my practice and remind me of why I started out on this path to begin with – because I wanted to make a difference.

In this digital age where most human contact involves looking at a ‘newsfeed,’ it’s understandable that most people feel disengaged and isolated. Therefore, it’s important that we do not allow the community that we have built to fall prey to separation. Women must continue to foster relationships that provide support, hope and transfer our knowledge and power so that the presence of women in leadership of law firms matches our presence in the legal field. We are much more likely to succeed as friends than as detached individuals or worse yet, foes.

So in closing, I challenge you – whether you are a graduate or CEO – to reach out to two people – one that you would like to mentor and one that you would like to mentor you.

 

This blog was originally posted on BeLeaderly.com.