Law firms aren’t that glamorous
Whenever most people think of a law firm they imagine some nicely dressed men in a conference room making a great deal or prepping for trial, however since starting my internship I have learned that there is much to running a successful law firm than what we see in popular culture. My first few days I shadowed the administrators to understand the computer systems and get a basic understanding of their day to day functions. Most of the administrative work goes unseen and is not very glamorous, but they do billing, filing, book depositions, and send confidential client matter. Although I learned a great deal shadowing the admins., the most valuable lesson I learned was that if I work in a law firm it will have to be as a lawyer.
Most of the daily work that occurs at Donovan Hatem is self-directed and there are few face to face meetings. Many of the interactions and requests from partners to the associates occurs via email or when someone walks by an office. Lawyers manage several cases at the same time and often work with other partners or associates, however each has different goals associated with the case. The leadership styles of individuals at different levels varies depending on the partner who is overseeing a particular case. Because so much of the work is self-directed, there is less frequent feedback. The partner will assign tasks to the associate, and grunt work that doesn’t require any research is passed off to the legal secretaries. Decisions are based around what is billable and anything that diminishes their ability to bill the maximum amount of hours in a day is a waste of the lawyer’s time.
Aside from the division between the lawyers and everyone else, among lawyers the partners are superior and pass off work to lower level associates so they can learn. Further, David Hatem, who is in charge, seems to lead through fear. Everyone is a little afraid of him, even Laura who has been practicing for over 25 years and has worked with David for a while is a little intimidated by him. He rarely walks around and interacts with the other lawyers, however I do sit at the opposite end of an oddly shaped office so I might just miss him. David rarely hires first-year associates and mostly cross-hires associates with some experience because he doesn’t like all the training that is required with newly practicing attorney. He expects work will be done correctly and in a timely manner, and doesn’t allow for many excuses. I can’t wait to see more and gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of a law firm as I continue my internship.
I’m not sure that it’s good that he is feared…questionable what kind of environment that creates, right? I’ll be interested to learn, as you continue, whether the administrative staff and paralegals have any ability to influence others (perhaps to even lead in some ways). I would expect that there would be more collaboration given that cases are often complex, so this would have surprised me as well.