challenge

Stand your ground

Posted on by thelegalknow

gorilla-standing

I’ve been practising law for some time now and one of the things that I have learnt, which was incredibly difficult to learn, is to stand one’s ground. I can now firmly stand my ground with YOU (the client) and the senior lawyers I work under. Why do you care? Well, simply because my confidence as a lawyer saves you money (yup, you know that paper we all want…). There are two scenarios which have played a recurring role in my career to date and these scenarios have taught me to stand my ground. Let’s take a look at them and then I’ll tell you how you can help your lawyers get to the level of confidence I have now (smug face) which should save you money.

Scenario 1 – A client desperately wants to do something that cannot be done but a dedicated lawyer, knowing that it cannot be done, still struggles to find a way. The client wants and the lawyer strives to give BUT it just isn’t possible. This is a rubbish scenario for everyone because the lawyer looks for the source of a myth whilst the client pays unnecessary costs to gain nothing.

Scenario 2 – A junior lawyer (they do all the ground work by the way) doesn’t think that a certain course should be taken but unfortunately the senior lawyer, eager to please the client and incur more fees (money, money money), doesn’t listen. A longer more difficult route is taken. As in scenario 1, the client pays unnecessary costs but to gain something it could have gained more easily and more cheaply.

I used to hate these situations. A junior lawyer pushing back against an experienced, Tom Ford wearing senior lawyer or a great lawyer too client whipped to be frank and say “sorry, this won’t work”. The disappointing feeling I experienced in these scenarios taught me to stand my ground in my profession. I will never lead you on a wild goose chase; if it can’t be done or it can only be done at a cost detrimental to your business, I will tell you and that will be it. If I’m working for a senior lawyer who is putting pressure on me to do A or B when I think C is best, I will throw all my toys out of my pram to get C, only giving up when I have been absolutely convinced that A or B is better. Sounds good right? Here’s how you can help to make sure that your legal team adopts this cost saving mentality…Ask to hear the best and the worst from your legal team AND reassure them that you’re READY to hear the worst. Also, direct your emails at the WHOLE legal team, not just the “front of house” senior lawyers, but the juniors too (those silent names that are cc’ed into every email to make sure that they pick up the work). In doing this you let the senior lawyers know that you value EVERYONE in the team and that at any given time you may ask for the junior’s opinion.

Deploy these tips and see the difference in your service. You should hopefully spend less time chasing dead ends and more time progressing to where you want to be.

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HOW TO… be an entrepreneur in your day job.

Posted on by thelegalknow

swan

Some of us are not quite at the point of saying goodbye to the salary and entering the world of risk and unpredictability. However, guess what? You don’t have to kick the day job in order to start honing the skills of an entrepreneur. Whilst you are planning your future business, you can start to test your entrepreneurial ability now, at your desk, under the nose of your boss.

  1. Respond to a request with a suggestion – If you are planning on leaving your day job, it is often because there is something about it, maybe how it is run or what it actually does, that you do not like. SO since you’re planning your exit, why not challenge some of those things that drive you nuts. When asked to negotiate that sale or purchase on the usual terms, suggest a different tactic. If you are asked to, yet again, make that same salad for the Monday customers, suggest changing the ingredients a bit, for example adding a bit of chilli? If you are asked to do the rota for whatever, suggest a change that makes that rota better. Start to challenge the norm. That’s what you do as an entrepreneur right? You see what others do not and you push the boundaries.
  2. Be yourself – This one is difficult in an office environment or a store where you are reminded daily that it is better to conform than to be yourself. But hey, you’re about to go it alone so you may as well shine and encourage others to shine too. I have a few clients who are unapologetically themselves. They ask you the most direct questions or they decline to come to an event you’re hosting because they, in their words “can’t be bothered with that sort of thing”; I respect these clients. Try to be the person you want to be and see how people respond. Do those under you work harder for you? Do those above you listen more? You can then get a feel for how you will be perceived by others when you are running your own business.
  3. Get to know everyone – When you eventually go it alone, you’ll need to be a people person. You will need to let everyone know who you are, where you are and what you’re up to. You will need to market yourself. So why not start now? Start marketing who you are. If you’re in a big organisation, go and talk to other teams; pop up to the third floor and say hello to the person you email in accounts every Monday. Basically, start honing your networking skills.
  4. Say yes – If you are asked to do something new, do not shy away. If it is out of your comfort zone, step up and take the challenge. Sink or swim that’s what you’ll be doing as your own boss with no one to delegate to. You’ll be doing new things daily, from attending events to speaking at events, from negotiating contracts to drafting strategies. Just do it and get used to a) the initial fear and b) the adrenaline once you realise that, whether you’re doing it well or not so well, you are trying and you are learning.
  5. Ask for help – When you set up on your own it is all about resources. You will be calling in favours and hiring professionals at a competitive price. SO whilst you are still in a day job, get used to asking for help from the people who know how to do what you can’t. If you don’t really know how to use your computer, ask IT for help. If you’ve never been part of a pitch and want to learn, ask a colleague who has done one before. Get used to asking for help, NOW.

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