Chapter 9 The Superstars

• Library: Accelerating Lawyer Success: How to Make Partner, Stay Healthy, and Flourish in a Law Firm (ABA) (2015 Ed.)

Superstar lawyers . . .

• Set clear boundaries
• Feel more in control
• Enjoy doing difficult tasks
• Are optimistic
• Are less planful
• Have fewer informal mentors
• Feel less micromanaged
• See the workplace as less political
• Bill fewer hours
. . . than typical new partners

Quon is a superstar. He has worked at his firm for 21 years. He made partner after eight years and now has a team of his own, which he keeps busy with clients and billable work. In addition to being a leader in his firm, he has been recognized with a number of outside honors for his work in project finance. One of these outside recognitions was by the Super Lawyers publication.

So far in this book, we've talked about how if you are being promoted, staying healthy, and flourishing, you have found success as a lawyer. Aren't these lawyers superstars? In one sense, yes; they have found success. However, for the purpose of semantics and categorization, we have designated one specific group the "superstars." These lawyers, like Quon, have been declared top lawyers by Super Lawyers. To get such an honor, a lawyer's peers must have felt that they had something special that differentiated them. This is quite the accomplishment. According to the Super Lawyer website: "Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a patented multiphase selection process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis."⁵⁵

The superstar partners in our study graduated from law school between 16 and 46 years prior to our data collection, with an average graduation of 34 years ago; the other partners in our sample graduated from law school between 9 and 21 years prior to our study, with an average of 12 years out of law school. It's clear even from a cursory glance at these numbers that the superstar partners are significantly more seasoned lawyers. We thought a comparison of these seasoned superstar lawyers to other partners would shed some light on how their mind-set and behaviors potentially differ from other partners whose success may not, or at least not yet, be as publicly shared. Of course, the caveat is that since their age and stage of career is more advanced than our main sample of lawyers, it is not possible to determine whether the specific "superstar traits" we found are the ones that enabled them to get where they are or, rather, developed as a...