Character

AuthorRandall Kiser
ProfessionInternational authority on attorney and law firm performance
Pages137-166
6
Character
Although law firms market their attorneys as dedicated pro-
fessionals, many law rms more closely resemble manufacturing
plants with rigid production goals than professional rms commit-
ted to client service. In the IAALS survey of 24,000 attorneys, for
instance, attorneys in private practice rated the need to “adhere
to proper timekeeping and billing practices” considerably above
“loyalty and dedication,” “passion for work,” and “commitment to
justice/rule of law” in importance.1 e surveyed attorneys also
placed a higher value on “prioritize and manage multiple tasks”
than “increase value to clients or stakeholders,” “maintain positive
professional relationships,” and “have an internalized commitment
to developing toward excellence.2
Consistent with this emphasis on production and billing, pri-
vate practice attorneys ranked “eectively use technology” as more
important than “focus on improving the work process,” “budget
resources appropriately,” and “leverage technology to increase
value.3 e ability to “adapt work habits to meet demands and
1 Gerkman, Alli, & Cornett, Logan. (2016, July). Foundations for practice: e
whole lawyer and the character quotient. Denver, CO: Institute for the Advance-
ment of the American Legal System. (ese results are compiled from the
“Explore the Data” feature on the IAALS website. e dataset is accessible
at: http://iaals.du.edu/foundations/explore/all. e results are based on the
responses of attorneys in private practice.)
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
137
expectations” also was rated above “seek opportunities for profes-
sional growth,” “demonstrate leadership,” and “work eectively on a
team.4 Attorneys’ utilitarian approach to the practice of law is again
reected in their ranking of the abilities to “work autonomously”
and be “condent” and “persuasive” above the ability to “objec-
tively assess the soundness of a deal or a proposed solution” and
the attributes of “prudence” and “a strong moral compass.
e IAALS survey indicates that many attorneys and their law
rms place a higher priority on functionality than client service,
loyalty, collegiality, value, and professional development. ese
ndings are consistent with personality assessments of attorneys
showing that they score relatively low in altruism, sociability, inter-
personal sensitivity, and prudence.5 e below-average score on
altruism is particularly worrisome because it indicates that lawyers
have a relatively low interest in “providing good customer service,
and they “place more value on their own work than in helping oth-
e r s .” 6 Although this self-centeredness could be advantageous in
some endeavors, it is a major liability in a service profession.
If law rms are serious about client service and satisfaction, they
will need to be more deliberate in their attorney selection processes
and more committed to their talent development programs. If law
rms also intend to build the requisite leadership skills in the next
generations of attorneys, they need to start modeling, teaching, and
supporting the desired skills now—before the imminent retirement
of thousands of law rm leaders. Although law rms have been
nancially successful for decades, the trends described in Chap-
ter2 suggest that the current level of prosperity will be unsustain-
able unless law rms identify and develop an attorney skill set that
is markedly dierent from the template presently used to select,
evaluate, and promote attorneys.
To enhance client service and prioritize attorneys’ problem-
solving and interpersonal skills, this chapter examines six critical,
4 Ibid.
5 Foster, Je, Richard, Larry, Rohrer, Lisa, & Sirkin, Mark. (2010). Understanding
lawyers: e personality traits of successful practitioners. Hildebrandt Baker
Robbins.
6 Ibid.
138 American Law Firms in Transition: Trends, Threats, and Strategies

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