Eric Richardson and I have been working diligently since last year in refreshing the appearance of the Greensboro Lawyers Lounge.  We purchased new furniture, office equipment, coffee supplies and accessories with budgeted funds from the Greensboro Bar Association and donations from the Guilford County Association of Black Lawyers and Attorney Tom Maddox.

On September 3, 2019, we celebrated the opening of the newly renovated space which coincided with Attorney Kearns Davis hosting a court visit consisting of a small delegation of leaders from the Port-au-Prince Bar Association in Haiti.  We welcomed President Stanley Gaston and Board Member Jacques Miguel Sanon.  Light refreshments were served courtesy of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP.

Please stop by and enjoy the Lounge when you are in the courthouse.

 — Judge Michelle Fletcher

The North Carolina State Bar is hosting an Opioid Summit on Friday, October 4, 2019 at the State Bar building in Raleigh.  Attendees will hear from leading experts and practicing lawyers about the opioid epidemic in North Carolina and how it affects the legal profession. In this day-long CLE, attendees will hear from experts on the State’s response to the epidemic, the science of opioid use, and the implementation of recovery courts, while also hearing individual stories from lawyers about the disease’s impact on family members and clients.  The program is bookended by a morning keynote address from Attorney General Josh Stein and an afternoon panel discussion with practicing lawyers offering practical guidance.  Details about the summit are included below:

What: Broadcast of the North Carolina State Bar Opioid Summit

When: October 4, 2019

Where: Fox Rothschild LLP

Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

CLE Credit: 4 hours general, 1 hour ethics, 1 hour substance abuse/mental health

Cost: $25 to be paid at the door (for full-day attendees, payable to NC State Bar)

For those who cannot attend the entire program, attending any one hour of the CLE will earn the substance abuse/mental health credit, attending any two hours will earn the substance abuse/mental health and ethics credits, and any additional hours will earn the general credits. Attendees are responsible for paying the $3.50 per credit hour they attend. Lunch will be provided, so please register in advance through the link on GBA’s website.

Jennifer Van Zant

Brooks Pierce partner Jennifer Van Zant was recently selected as one of Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation. She has been named to the list each year since 2015.

The list features 250 women across the United States who have earned their place by participating in impactful litigation matters, as well as by earning the respect of their peers and clients as top players in their respective fields. Attorneys are nominated based on extensive client and peer reviews.

Van Zant focuses her practice on complex business litigation and class action defense. She represents businesses on a wide range of disputes before federal courts and the North Carolina Business Court, and works closely with clients to make paths toward resolution.

Among her many other accolades are being elected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America^© for Antitrust Litigation, Bet-the-Company Litigation and Commercial Litigation and has been named Greensboro “Lawyer of the Year” in her respective practice area four times. Van Zant has been recognized in North Carolina Super Lawyers every year since 2010, including being named one of the “Top 50 Women Lawyers in the State” every year since 2012 and one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in the State” each year since 2014. She is a member of the North Carolina Legal Elite Hall of Fame. She has also been named one of the Triad Business Journal’s “Outstanding Women In Business.”

Camille Stell
is President and CEO of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualnc.com or 800.662.8843.

What does law firm leadership look like?

Too often, it’s an outdated model where reward goes to the most senior, regardless of contribution. Where leaders look for perks rather than developing servant leadership concepts.  Firm partners hold tightly to decision making and there are clear lines of distinction between partners and associates, lawyers and all others.

There is no discussion about the future of the firm or really much discussion about anything strategic.

As a result, many law firms end up being one generation firms. When the current firm owner retires, the firm will cease to exist. This keeps everyone in the firm unsettled. While they may be content today, they don’t know what tomorrow brings.

The practice operates under the status quo: we know our clients, we know what they want, and we aren’t worried about them leaving.

However, this client view doesn’t always fit with reality. Client surveys consistently show clients are not satisfied with their law firms and, when a better opportunity comes along, they will leave.

So, what can you do to exhibit leadership that will make your firm more profitable? Here are a few suggestions:

Agility. Law firms love committees. And task forces. And blue-ribbon study groups. And consensus building. And debating. What law firms do not love is decision making. Or to change direction. Or to improvise. Yet modern law firm leaders need to think quickly, analyze the current situation, and even change course in response to a rapidly changing environment. Practice experimentation in your firm. Learn more about the tech world philosophy of “fail fast” where you decide, evaluate your results, and adjust accordingly.

Collaboration. Lawyers are often, by nature, individualists. Law school further intensifies this characteristic. Much of law school and early career is about surviving competition. When lawyers arrive at traditional firms where there are even more distinctions between groups of people, the concept is reinforced.

Except the current generation of employees doesn’t necessarily buy into this concept of competition and working as an island. Modern employees, lawyers, and clients are more responsive to collaboration. Today, information is open and accessible. The barriers that lawyers could build because they were the only ones with access to legal knowledge are being broken down. Studies show time and again that diversity makes for better results whether it is diverse perspectives, diversity of people, or diversity of experience. Working together in diverse groups will build stronger law firms.

Growth mindset. Dr. Carole Dweck is a psychology researcher who has studied and written about the benefit of a growth mindset. In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dr. Dweck says that an individual who embraces lifelong learning has an advantage over those whose viewpoints remain fixed.

Lawyers should find a natural advantage here as lawyers are required to be lifelong learners by the very nature of their chosen careers (and those pesky mandatory CLE requirements). However, most of the learning is focused on the substantive law side of education rather than learning skill sets outside of law. By slightly shifting your focus: add a few business books to your reading list, include an entrepreneurial podcast on your playlist, or attend a conference on a topic that’s new to you, you’ll be exhibiting the very characteristics that Dr. Dweck cites as imperative to next generation leaders.

Accountability. People often perform best when others are holding them accountable. My goal is to show up at the gym every morning. I’m more likely to do it when I’m meeting an accountability partner or reporting my progress to someone. How does this relate to leadership in law firms? Few firms create strategy or plans with specific action items or hold people accountable for meeting goals. We often fail to set our expectations for our firm members. My experience with employee evaluations is that time and time again, we talk with employees about their same failures, yet we don’t provide the resources to improve the situation, allocate time necessary to make improvement or have conversations throughout the year about why the improvement is important in helping the law firm reach its goals.

Modern law firm leaders realize that by establishing strategy and goals, firm members know where they are headed. By establishing a clear roadmap of the strategy and tasks needed to reach the goal, providing the necessary tools, and establishing ownership of projects by team members, and checking in regularly to see how people are doing, you’ll find individuals moving forward to meet strategic goals.

Next generation leaders need to master new skill sets. Are you improving your own leadership skills? Mentoring and developing skills of others in your office? The future of your firm depends on it.

Camille Stell is the President of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualnc.com or 800.662.8843.

Preet Bharara
Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series
Presented by The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation

Thursday, October 10, 6:30 p.m.

Carolina Theatre, 310 South Greene Street, Greensboro
For tickets call the Carolina Theatre Box Office at 336.333.2605

For more information visit https://carolinatheatre.com/event/elon-laws-distinguished-leadership-lecture/

Tickets are now on sale to see Preet Bharara, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who prosecuted terrorists, drug cartels, arms traffickers, money launderers, insider traders, and corrupt public officials. He visits October 10 at 6:30 p.m. for a talk at the Carolina Theatre presented by The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation. Tickets are $15 each (plus tax).

Bharara is the latest addition to an Elon University line-up of speakers of international prominence invited to encourage and promote discussion and thought during the upcoming academic year on the theme of “Quest for Truth.” The Elon University Speaker Series is supported by The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer, and
The Herald-Sun.

Featured Speaker and Author, Preet Bharara

Nominated to the position by President Barack Obama, Bharara served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017, earning a reputation as one of “the nation’s most aggressive and outspoken prosecutors,” according to The New York Times. On March 19, 2019, Bharara’s book “Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law” was published by Knopf and debuted at #4 on The New York Times bestseller list. It offers an overview of the American justice system, and why the rule of law is essential to society.