IMPROVING THE BREED
How To Really Succeed At Practicing Law
THE SUCCESSFUL LAWYER, Powerful Strategies For Transforming Your Practice, by Gerald A. Riskin. American Bar Association, Law Practice Management Section., Chicago., 2005. 241 Pages, Paperback. Click here to order.
If you’re a lawyer, and smart enough to do what you’re told by people who know, then start by reading this book. If you’re a lawyer, and not smart enough to read this book, then save time and money. Sell your desks and chairs, and choose a simpler occupation.
Or as Gerry Riskin puts it in this remarkable book, “Do you believe you have any control over your destiny at all?” Well, if you do, then take the time, start reading, and take notes. No CLE course will tell you more that’s more useful, realistic, and as they say on Wall Street, eminently doable, then this exploration of the ways to run a successful practice, be you solo or a partner of a top ten international firm.
Gerry Riskin, in a lifetime of practice, and of serving a vast and prominent clientele of major practitioners, has absorbed an immense body of knowledge about the practice of law, and how to succeed at it. No academic, he. All is from experience in the trenches, tempered by insights given to but few earthlings. And the profession, worldwide, is filled with lawyers who have benefited from Gerry Riskin’s largesse. Now, anybody who has the price of this book, or who can borrow it from somebody, or has heard him speak, can benefit from his wisdom. What a bargain.
This is a radical book. It asks lawyers to draw back from merely practicing law every day in the same way that they have always practiced it everyday, to stop. Think. Question. Plan. Change. And grow. It suggests that the practice of law is not an intractable ritual handed down from Parnassus, but the act of bright, thinking human beings. This means that a lawyer, whether a sole practitioner or an associate in a very large firm, need not abdicate personal wishes, desires, and even skills, in the practice of the law to succeed. Realistic self-examination, says Riskin, pays off, and not just in a feel-good way, but in the practical reality of practicing law for personal achievement, for success, and for growth.
Nor is this a standard feel-good book, written either to show off the author’s ego, or to simply make a buck. It’s not just theory. It’s a manual of practical approaches, all of which have been proven in practice. Gerry Riskin makes his points so clearly that you can, if you choose, actually transform your practice into one that’s not merely successful and thriving, but is relevant to the changing needs of the marketplace. He’s done it for hundreds of lawyers and law firms, and in The Successful Lawyer, he’s written a book that teaches -- actually teaches – you how to do it for your practice.
Nothing beyond any lawyer’s capability here. For example, he makes the important point – and a good starting point it is – that “…people who have the most fulfilling and exciting practices are the people who have intended to do so.” They are the result of premeditated acts, he says.
It doesn’t take much, he points out. Just a few ideas. Winners don’t take on long ‘to-do’ lists and then let themselves get demoralized. He’s talking about the “Slight Edge Theory”. The difference between number one and number two need only be slight, but it’s all the edge you need. If Tiger Woods wins a tournament with a score of 281, he says, and the player who comes in second has a score of 282, Tiger woods may have won by only a third of a percentage point or so – but he won. “Winners,” says Riskin, “continually improve in small incremental steps. That is the secret to their success.”
In clear, straightforward language, Riskin explains why the foundation of a successful practice resides in the management of ideas. Brainstorming, a common practice not too often practiced, is crucial, but only if the rules are followed, and respect is shown for other people’s ideas. It leads to imaginative planning in which everybody in the firm participates. He believes that trusting in the intelligence of people is the key to a firm’s success.
The book is organized so that each of the concepts expressed follows a logical pattern. Managing the client relationship. Courting prospective clients, handling telephone inquiries, active listening, managing client expectations – these are the subjects covered in just one of the six sections. Putting client relationships to work includes a range of subjects from giving advice to dealing with complaints.
A strong section deals with increasing the individual lawyer’s value, perhaps one of the most delicate subjects faced by any professional today – and covered comprehensively here. A large section deals with the business side of the law, including tactics and harnessing technology. And finally, Riskin deals with the pure mechanics of time and money – from value billing to overcoming fee resistance.
Gerald Riskin brings an extraordinary background to the subject. One of the most prominent and highly respected names in the legal profession, and particularly in managing and marketing a law practice, he is both a lawyer and business graduate who practiced law for ten years, and managed one of Canada’s leading international firms before joining with Patrick McKenna to form The Edge Group (Now Edge International), considered to be the leading consulting firm to lawyers throughout the world. He has written and spoken extensively , and serves the profession in every major part of the world. He is at home in the legal profession in Canada, the United States, Europe and Great Britain, parts of Asia, and South Africa. He is the author of many articles, and, with Patrick McKenna, wrote the notable texts Herding Cats and Beyond Knowing, both best sellers in the field. Widely sought after as a speaker, he is accepted as being light years ahead of virtually everybody else in the field by his peers, by his clients, and by the profession. It is no surprise, then, that he should produce this extraordinary and practical work.
Even to those who have known Riskin, or heard him speak, this is a remarkable book, in its range of subjects, its originality, its down to earth common sense, and its freedom from academic clichés. We should note, too, that mulch of what Riskin writes about is applicable to accoountants as well as lawyers. It is a treasure for the profession and the professional. It’s impossible for any lawyer not to gain some benefit from it.