Lawyers are often called upon to be leaders. Whether by virtue of position, when they are partners, or because of their expertise, when asked to serve on community boards, lawyers are routinely looked to for their ability to lead. I’ve often pondered why people assume that lawyers and leaders are one and the same. Many believe that leaders are born, but I believe that the good ones are made, trained in the art and science of leadership. For whatever reasons we are called to lead, I believe that we must pursue the knowledge it takes to be ready and able when called.
As an Air Force officer, I understood that my purpose was to be a leader first and a manager second. We were trained primarily in leadership during our commissioning program and expected to be able to lead on day one. The technical expertise of our jobs would be taught once we were on active duty. The mantle of leadership was not to be taken lightly because people were following us in pursuit of our mission. I was a 23-year-old second lieutenant responsible for people (and equipment) a great deal older than me, and the butter bars on my shoulders were not enough to “make them” do what I said. And that’s art of leadership, influencing others to follow you, whether they have to or not. These were good lessons for being a new lawyer and even more useful for being a leader in bar associations.
Upon transitioning from the military to law practice, I was surprised to encounter lawyers reluctant to lead because they just wanted to practice law and didn’t think of themselves as leaders solely because of their position as partners in the firm. Well-functioning firms need leadership, whether that’s at the practice group level or the firm level. Even solo practitioners must step away from the operational side of their practice to have some vision about their direction and what they want their practice to be. For as often as directing lawyers is jokingly called “herding cats,” it drives home the imperative that good leadership matters. Leaders provide the vision to get everyone moving in the right direction.
While the terms leadership and management are often used interchangeably, there is a difference. Management focuses on the process and operations executed by people and leadership is about the people, influencing them and guiding their direction with vision. I think good managers must also be leaders and leaders must have some management skills to be successful. While management is a foundational principle of what the Law Practice Division aims to teach lawyers, we would be remiss if we didn’t spend some time on principles of good leadership as well.
This issue of Law Practice Magazine explores the overlap of the disciplines of leadership and management. There is a role for leadership for lawyers at every stage of their career and every level of practice. Here we highlight how the next generation of lawyers can help guide us all in embracing the changes that lie ahead. We explore how leadership at the executive levels of firms sets the tone and keeps the firm together. Finally, we examine how leadership development can make better lawyers.
Making lawyers better, that is what the Law Practice Division (LP) is here to do. It is our goal, our vision, our purpose. During this bar year as chair of LP, I am reminded that the mantle of leadership is again not to be taken lightly because volunteers are following me in pursuit of LP’s mission, to advance the legal profession through our focus on technology, finance, marketing and management. The stakes are certainly different. National security isn’t at risk and I’m not that fresh-faced lieutenant. I do feel however, that lawyers are important to our society, so I embrace the mission to support our profession and hope that what I’ve learned about leadership along the way will make me worthy to follow.
