It´s always about Trust
“Y qué conozca las palabras que jamás le voy a decir, y qué no le importe mi ropa si total me voy a desvestir” NECESITO, SUI GENERIS.
Before writing my I&P number 50 I thought what would be a topic that could summarize my thoughts and experiences during these more than four years sharing views and opinions with lawyers in Latin America. More than a general comment about my insights as consultant and writer during these four years I wanted to concentrate on something essential and more specific that could come across the deep reality of the legal practice in our region. I didn´t take too long to realize that trust is that topic.
During my years as managing partner I asked myself many times why it was so difficult to get lawyers to agree on things that seemed reasonable and convenient for the firm and themselves. The sense that people were not sharing their real thoughts and that hidden agendas were always a possibility was both frustrating and surprising, especially coming from partners with whom I have shared many years together in the firm. But when I started working as a consultant it was really astonishing to find that this phenomenon is incredibly widespread in our law firms. A significant number of partners -maybe unwittingly- have a double standard in their relationship with their partners. One is the personal relationship, that normally is very good or even excellent (including in many cases close friendships) that often goes many years back of sharing an intense professional and personal life. The other is the professional relationship as partners, with all the economic, professional and political elements that coexist in this type of relationship. Here, the nature of the connection changes significantly in many cases to include a suspicious and calculated approach towards each other. The discussions about compensation and governance in law firms show just how little partners really trust each other. There is a hidden, and probably subconscious, reaction that other partners (not all, but those that are seen as confronted with one´s interests) will try to damage one´s position in the firm for their own good. It is almost hilarious to see the reaction of partners when I tell them that they don´t trust each other. They say “Jaime, this is not true, I have an excellent relationship with all my partners with whom I have shared X number of years together”. That type of statements coexist with high levels of mistrust among partners.
Many authors have analyzed and written about this problem from different perspectives. David Maister explicitly referred to it as “The Trouble with Lawyers” in connection to the intrinsic nature of lawyers as being skeptic and controversial, which could be positive for the legal profession but a source of problems within the partnership. From a more psychological perspective, Laura Empson (“Leading Professionals. Power, Politics and Prima Donnas”) identifies two types of prototypes within notoriously successful partners: the narcissist and the insecure overachiever. Although this article is too short to elaborate on these cases, I can say that many firms have one or more of this type of partners. Their common trait is that despite their remarkable performance, they are insecure and, for that reason, they tend to mistrust others as rivals and create constant difficulties in the management and governance of the firm.
From a firm´s perspective, this topic is also complicated because the nature of the legal business is ambiguous and opaque, that is, it is difficult to ascertain the quality and value of the actions and outputs of partners. The intangible nature of the legal service makes it hard to measure and value. This creates significant levels of discretion and subjectivity and a highly politized environment. This complex combination of professional, psychological and organizational elements results in Maister describing law firms as “low-trust environments”.
This management context would indicate that law firms should work as highly fragmented organizations since lawyers are not prepared to work together in an efficient way. But despite the vital importance of autonomy that lawyers require and the general mistrust they exhibit as partners when they need to work together, the truth is clients need teams and service platforms to solve their needs and problems. The service provided through generalist lawyers who knew about all areas of the law is something of the past. Firms need to specialize and have teams and lawyers that work together in a seamless manner to provide complex solutions. Diversity and collaboration are two of the most repeated concepts in the discussions about legal service in the globalized and VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.
It is impossible to collaborate and be diverse without trust. Collaboration means to depend on others to produce a collective result, and diversity implies the acceptance of different perspectives and ways of understanding reality. Trust is a necessary component to allow diverse people to collaborate towards a common goal. Without trust it is very difficult to survive and become effective in the ambiguous world of law firms. Trust works as a bridge between different opinions and perspectives, with the understanding that this diversity does not mean antagonism with people trying to hurt each other, but rather different views of a complex reality.
How do we work against this structural lack of trust within law firms? We should not be naïve and think that it´s only a matter of changing our hearts and minds around it. Firms should understand that this is a difficult thing for lawyers and help in fostering trust, while avoiding circumstances that could endanger it. Systems and culture should work in favor of building trust within the firm. Governance and compensation should encourage collaboration and diversity. Information should be open and transparent for all partners while constructive dialogue should be an essential dynamic within the firm. Strategy should become the means of agreeing on common goals and building trust among partners that need to team among each other to achieve positive results.
In addition to all the management and organizational considerations, trust is also a philosophical way of dealing with everyday life and challenges. It requires one to understand and recognize the importance and the presence of the “other”, and the courage to assume that, as scary as it may look, we need the “other” to become who we want to be. When one says “I found you, there you are” one recognizes the essential importance that other people have in one´s own life. Lawyers need to understand that these universal truths are equally valid within the legal profession and the complex relationships emanating from the partnership. The courage to trust is the courage to accept that “you are important to me”, and that “I need you to become myself”. As in the Sui Generis song, trust means to take a risk where one will need to understand the words that will not be voiced and open oneself even if that feels being undressed and naked in front of others.
I want to finish this I&P 50 by thanking all those clients and friends that have generously shared with me their concerns and experiences during these four years. It was thanks to their views and examples that I was able to understand a lot of complex situations of our exciting profession. Many served as a source of inspiration in different ways. I also thank those who took the time to read these articles and made comments or gave support. Finally, a special note of gratitude to Louis Pryor, my youthful minded great uncle (who has extensive corporate experience working internationally for Dupont worldwide) who corrects my drafts each month with great patience. He adds significant value to my occasionally faulted English and is also supportive of my ideas about management, while always being a model of enthusiasm and curiosity. I hope these lines have been a thought-provoking source of reflection and entertainment over these four years. I wish you can find your trust within your firms and yourselves in order to accomplish your goals and desires.
See you in Santiago!
