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Want to Make Partner? Start Acting Like One

Want to Make Partner? Start Acting Like One.

Elise R. Holtzman, JD, ACC, The Lawyers Success Coach,

www.lawyersuccesscoach.com

Most of you have heard the saying If it looks like a duck, walks like a

duck, and quacks like a duck . . . it must be a duck! Well, if youre

looking for career advancement, say, to be elected partner at your law firm,

start quacking. If you dont seem like partner material well before

election time, youll have a much harder time convincing the powers-that-be

to admit you to their ranks.

Are you deluding yourself into thinking that youll receive an offer of

partnership as a reward for a job well done? If so, its time to change

your thinking. Quickly. The days of becoming a partner simply because

youve survived longer than anyone else are over. Its simply not enough

to be a great lawyer, a great thinker or a great technician. Youve got to

have something else to offer.

I recently had lunch with an old law school friend who is a partner at a

mid-size law firm. He was understandably frustrated by a situation presented

by one of his associates: shes smart, hard-working and a good person, he

told me. She wants to make partner, but she just hasnt made the jump from

thinking and acting like an associate to thinking and acting like a partner.

What does that mean? How can you avoid falling into the trap of not getting

the job because you dont seem like a partner? Its not just a

matter of appearances, although thats definitely part of it. The job

description you want is fundamentally different from the job you have now,

and you need to make it clear that you have evolved into the new position,

that youre prepared to step into partner shoes.

Are You Partner Material? In addition to the obvious basics - being smart,

hardworking and an excellent attorney - there are 5 key competencies an

associate must exhibit to be considered partner material.

One. Be a Decision Maker. Start making decisions appropriate to your

position. If youre too insecure to make choices and determinations

without constantly running to someone else for approval, you may not be ready

to be in charge. If you dont have confidence in your abilities, no one

else will either. You might be a superstar junior or mid-level associate,

but if you want to move up the ranks, you need to demonstrate leadership

ability. Its pretty simple. Would you give a seat at the owners table

to someone who appears nervous or equivocal about getting the job done right?

Neither will anyone else.

Two. Be a Delegator. If youre lucky enough to have someone to whom you

can delegate work, by all means, do it. Partners and managers oversee

complex projects and delegate work to junior people. When you keep saying

if I want it to be done right, I have to do it myself, you are setting

yourself up for disappointment. Senior attorneys who are climbing the ladder

of success are not sitting up late at night proofreading, correcting typos,

or doing document production, basic research or simple drafting. If you are

a senior associate and youre still doing that, youre not making the

jump. Delegating doesnt mean abdicating; youve got to delegate to the

right person, follow up, demand accountability, and make sure the job is done

right. Thats what the boss does.

Three. Think Like an Owner, Not an Employee. Although weve been trained

to think a law firm is more like an genteel country club than a bricks and

mortar business that needs clients and positive cash flow to survive, the

latter is the hard truth. Partners need to understand the business of the

law firm and do what it takes to ensure its financial success. Demonstrating

an understanding of the economics of each case and transaction and how it

impacts the firms finances is critical to being seen as a future member of

the firm.

Four. Be an Ambassador. The lawyers who sit at their desks churning out the

work, eating take-out and turning out the lights every night are not always

the ones who wind up owning the place. Hard work and dedication are a given,

but youve got to get out of the office too. Be visible in the community,

both in legal circles and the larger community in which you live. Give

lectures, attend fundraisers, do volunteer work, establish yourself as a

leading authority in your field, and let everyone know who you work for.

Good publicity for the firm is good publicity for you, and vice versa.

Five. Create a Network of Business Relationships. This is the tough one,

isnt it? When we graduate from law school, no one reminds us to maintain

the network of friends and colleagues weve already developed, and they

certainly dont encourage us to develop our own networks. Many attorneys

complain that they spend the early years putting those proverbial noses to

the grindstone, only to emerge from a fog several years later to discover

that they are expected to have magically developed a book of business. So,

let me be the one to say it: you need to develop your own network of friends

and colleagues. Any marketing professional will tell you that people do

business with those they know, like and trust. Those with whom you have

developed relationships will come to you, not a stranger, when they need

legal expertise.

The skills that are serving you so well now are different from those you will

require as you become more senior, whether you become a partner of your firm

or move into another leadership position. Corporate managers have often said

that ambitious employees are wise to dress for the job they want, not the job

they have. Similarly, you can prepare now for partnership by developing and

exhibiting the high-level skills required for that position. By the time

its your turn to be considered for partnership, all the ducks will be

quacking in your favor.

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