Originally published on October 12, 2009 in our free BigLaw newsletter.
Law firms today are kinder, gentler places to work. Or at least they aspire to be. Many have diversity initiatives, or regularly stage events designed to promote harmonious relationships between employees. Most plan outings or gatherings intended to promote "team building," and strengthen the bonds between those who work long hours together in tight quarters, and probably spend at least some of those hours fantasizing about the pie they'd like to throw in a co-worker's face.
Nella, a senior associate at a large urban law firm, recently sat through one such event — a seminar on "managing conflict in the workplace." But, although she tried to take it all in, "engage" with the material, and learn something from the presentation, she found her mind wandering.
"My firm puts these things on all the time," she says, a note of boredom creeping into her voice. "After a while, they're all the same. You sit around, holding hands and singing 'Kumbaya,' but …" She pauses, and then sums up what may be the fatal shortcoming of such efforts. "At the end of the day, you still work at a law firm."
The seminar on resolving office conflicts is but one of the programs Nella has attended recently. Like many others, her firm devotes considerable time and attention to scrutinizing and, ostensibly, attempting to improve, workplace dynamics and "quality of life." The firm tries to address work-life balance, iencourages its employees to exercise and get flu shots and tries to promote harmonious workplace collaboration between attorneys and staff.
Given These Worthy Pursuits, Why So Cynical?
While these efforts are commendable, the problem, according to Nella, is that, when a huge filing is looming or a project hits an unexpected bump in the road, "conflict management" skills and well-intentioned "team building" fall by the wayside. Stress takes over, and the focus shifts to getting the document out, redoing the exhibits that should have been done right the first time, or editing the brief that, at the 11th hour, still doesn't look the way it should.
For example, she says, shortly after she attended the conflict management seminar, one of the secretaries in her office had a "minor meltdown" occasioned by the looming deadline for submitting various documents in a multi-district litigation. It was a Friday afternoon, Nella recalls, and the secretary announced, in a panic, that she couldn't prepare all the documents by herself. "You can't leave!" she told Nella. "I haven't finished putting everything together!"
"There were a few problems," explains Nella tactfully. "For one thing, the documents in question were cover letters, forms, and other items she was supposed to have done earlier. They were her responsibility, and she simply hadn't done her job. Second, this particular secretary worked for an important partner." What could Nella do? "My main concern," she says, "was making sure that she didn't go to the partner and complain - even though I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. It was just a headache that I didn't need." So what did Nella do? "I snapped at her, but then I sat there by her side, staying late on a Friday, and helped her complete the task."
"So much for effective communication and problem-solving," she adds. "When you're under a deadline and a co-worker — who may have a partner's ear — is freaking out, it's all about damage control."
Phooey on Feel Good?
Given her experience, does Nella think that initiatives designed to foster workplace warmth and encourage a "Go Team!" attitude are worthless?
"Well," she muses, "sometimes I resent having to sit through these things, knowing all the while that I have work to do and hours to bill … and that there probably isn't going to be a productive payoff. But, I suppose, if they make one person feel as though they have more of a voice, and that their concerns are important, then it's a net gain."
Nella warns, however, that this feeling is usually illusory. "We may work in a fairly genteel environment," she says, "but we still work for 'the Man.' It's nice to believe that we're engaged in a collaborative endeavor, and that your feelings and input are valued, but at the end of the day the imperatives of the task at hand trump all of that."
She summarizes her view with an analogy. "It's like Santa Claus and Christmas spirit" she explains. "We all want to believe so we let ourselves get carried away. You decorate your tree, wait for Santa to come, and lose yourself in the spirit of the season … but you can't lose sight of reality. At the end of the day, you'll have a lot of cleanup to do, and a giant credit card bill to pay."
How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw goes deep undercover inside some of the country's biggest law firms. But we don't just dish up the dirt. We also mine it for best and worst practices and other nuggets of knowledge. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
