Lessons From the Court
Improving attorney performance in the profession.
By Chad Baruch
As the legal market grows ever more competitive, Texas law firms are
looking for ways to improve their performance. I spent two decades as
the head coach of high school and college basketball programs and, in my
view, many of the principles we applied when building winning basketball
teams can be useful to lawyers and law firms looking to become better
and more competitive in the legal profession.
Throughout my career, I rejected the idea of having many detailed
rules for our players and instead attempted to instill in them a small
set of core values that they could apply to almost any situation. Over
the years, these central principles have changed very little even as I
served in private and public institutions.
Determination: Do you have the drive to improve? Are you willing to confront weaknesses to do it?
Resilience: Will you rebound from setbacks with renewed commitment?
Integrity: Are you unwilling to profit or win at the expense of honor?
Compassion: Are you committed to helping others?
Team First: Will team members sacrifice individual desires for the good of the team?
These core values
translate well to business culture, including law firms. No person
or firm can operate by these values and fail to improve. I offer
this brief discussion of how these principles—which I have used not only
in winning basketball games but also in helping develop character in
young people—can help you improve your legal practice.
Determination
In law, as in basketball, hard work and a commitment to being the best
almost always breed success. Why do people develop passion? Undeniably,
some people simply have an inner drive to be the best at what they do.
But often, the drive to succeed is instilled—or at least fostered—by
team culture.
Where team leaders espouse (and, more critically, model) a commitment
to excellence, new members will likely join in that commitment. No one
wants to be the weak link on a strong team.
Of course, feedback from team leaders plays an important role in
developing each member’s desire to improve. Good performance should be
rewarded at least with compliments, often with recognition in front of
the team, and sometimes—in the law firm context—with financial benefit.
Likewise, mistakes must be recognized and corrected. And team members
must know that subpar performance simply is unacceptable. This negative
feedback, though, should be delivered professionally and respectfully,
and always with the idea that team leaders want each member of the team
to reach his or her full potential.
No matter how successful your firm may be, never think too highly of
yourself. Mirroring the growing parity in NCAA basketball, today’s legal
market is more competitive than ever. The best firms—like the best
teams—engage in constant self-evaluation to improve themselves. Know
what you do well—but also what you can do better. As Hall of Fame
basketball coach Pat Summitt once said: “It’s what you learn after
you know it all that counts the most.”
In basketball, an important part of getting better is recognizing that
improvement occurs both as a team and as an individual. Coaches have an
expression: Teams improve during the season; players improve during the
off-season. In the legal context, law firms must improve by helping
their individual lawyers get better, enhancing the firm’s culture, and
improving the way lawyers and staff members work together as a team. A
law firm, like a basketball team, can reach its maximum potential when a
team of great lawyers and support staff works in perfect harmony, taking
advantage of each person’s unique strengths—becoming a whole that is
greater than the sum of its parts.
A great law firm, then, like a great basketball program does not just
recruit talent—it develops talent. Choosing meaningful
continuing legal education (directed toward each lawyer’s needs, not in
a “one-size-fits-all” style) is an important part of this process. Know
your people, know what they need, and figure out how to get it for them.
Resilience
It is one of the most repeated maxims in sports: It’s not how many
times you get knocked down; it’s how many times you get up. Championship
caliber players and teams are not defeated by adversity—they learn from
it. Indeed, the best coaches and players know that a painful loss can be
more valuable than a win. If we pay close attention, we can learn a
great deal from our losses. If you lose, keep your composure, dust
yourself off, and move on.
One underappreciated aspect of resilience is team unity. Members of the
best teams value and appreciate each other. This appreciation leads to a
dynamic possessed by championship teams: the desire not to let your
teammates down in any situation. Resilient teams usually are close-knit
teams.
Integrity
In any competitive endeavor, some people will use unethical methods to
gain success. As a coaching staff, it is impossible to keep tabs on
players every hour of the day. And it certainly is impossible to track
all the people who come into contact with your players—and may attempt
to lead them astray.
In each of the programs I have had the honor to lead, we attempted to
make integrity a core value. This was a top-to-bottom commitment. Our
players knew that the coaches followed rules like practice restrictions,
academic eligibility, and recruiting strictures scrupulously. They knew
we expected them to follow organizational and school rules. It was an
important part—indeed, probably the most important—of our team culture.
It became “our way” of doing things.
To be certain, we lost some good players because of this approach. And
other coaches sometimes viewed us as self-righteous. But we thought
these were small prices to pay for teaching our players the value of
doing things the right way.
In the legal profession, we face continued issues with a lack of
professionalism and declining public respect. Now more than ever, we
must teach young lawyers the value of integrity and honor for the
profession
Compassion
Compassion is a critical component of success. We frequently reminded
our players how lucky they were to be playing competitive basketball
(some of them in exchange for a college education). This thankfulness
reinforces appreciation for fellow team members and for the people who
make success possible (in the case of most lawyers, the clients). That,
in turn, pushes people to work even harder.
It also necessitates an element of service. In the legal profession,
this can take many forms, including bar service and pro bono work. In my
legal career, I have learned an enormous amount from working alongside
great lawyers both in bar entities and on pro bono appeals. Involvement
in professional organizations and activities can be an important part of
developing legal talent.
Team
First
A team working together in perfect harmony can overcome almost any
obstacle—including superior talent and resources. One of the most
overlooked aspects of developing unity is selecting personnel. My teams
have been known, first and foremost, for playing stifling man-to-man
defense. As a result, our staff wanted players willing to play defense.
A gifted player unwilling to do so might have been a star elsewhere but
was a poor fit for us. Select people who fit your firm’s practice,
goals, and culture.
Once you have the right people on board, the critical step is giving
each of them a sense of ownership in the firm’s work. In most firms,
lawyers depend on associates or support staff. You will get the best
performance from these people when they feel like an important and
valued member of the team. When everyone feels they have a role to
play—and that their role is an important one—the team gathers momentum.
Never let your people feel like they are not valued, or that they are
just replaceable cogs in a machine.
It is equally important, though, that everyone understands that not
every team member can be the superstar. Some people necessarily may have
more prominent roles than others. The team comes before any individual.
Conclusion
Adhering to these values—whether in building a championship caliber
basketball program or an elite law firm—will improve performance. It
also will help to ensure that success does not come at the cost of
integrity. As a coach, I was as competitive as almost anyone I ever
encountered. But I never wanted our team’s success to come at the
expense of our integrity. Adhering to these values helped our teams be
successful while maintaining our honor.TBJ
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CHAD BARUCH is an appellate attorney with Johnston Tobey Baruch and former chair of the Texas Bar College. He is certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Baruch is the men’s basketball coach at the Alcuin School in Dallas and formerly served as the men’s basketball coach at the University of Dallas, Paul Quinn College, and Yavneh Academy of Dallas. |
