The 'L' in 'Law' Stands for Leadership

AuthorAdam Newhouse
Pages141-148
141
CHAPTER 14
The “L” in “Law” Stands
for Leadership
In the pre-digital days, if we passed a bar exam, got a modest office,
and arranged a few law books on a shelf, we could pose as and have
relative success as lawyers. Even if we shut our doors tight or limited
our face-to-face interactions with clients, clients would still find us.
Not anymore. Unless we also shut down all digital devices and become
absolutely irrelevant, the Internet forces us into the sunlight. It exposes
and magnifies our entire professional personae. There is nowhere to
hide. If we want to be lawyers, we have to show it.
If a Digital Mentality is now a prerequisite to staying relevant, then
acting as leaders is key to reclaiming clients’ trust and building deep
long-term relationships. The days of the attention-shy practitioner hid-
ing in library stacks are over. The digital age belongs to leaders. Only
leaders survive.
Being a Good Lawyer Is Never, Ever Enough
The opposite of the word professional is not unprofessional, but rather
technician.359
—David Maister
There is nothing wrong with being a Technician. There’s only
something wrong with being a Technician who also owns a business.360
—Michael E. Gerber
I once discussed the role of lawyers with a general counsel of one of the
better-known American corporations. I mentioned that I had introduced
359. David Maister, True Professionalism, The Courage to Care about Your People, Your Cli-
ents, and Your Career 16 (Touchstone 2000) (“True Professionalism”).
360. Gerber (cited in 128) at 38.
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