I've often wondered what inspired Van Morrison to write the song, "Professional Jealousy." Had he encountered another musician who was jealous of his talents? Was he envious of someone else? The latter is hard to imagine. I consider Van Morrison to be one of the most talented musicians in rock, have many of his albums, have been blown away by his powerful voice in concert, and developed my first rule of radio listening several decades ago because of him: "Thou shalt not change the station when they're playing a Van Morrison song." I still think "Hard Nose the Highway" is one of the most underrated albums of all time.
Unfortunately, professional jealousy is a real, and very destructive, force in law firm practice. We work in a highly competitive profession. We compete with hundreds and even thousands of lawyers in other law firms. We also, all too often, compete with our colleagues in our own firms. We succeed or fail by the extent to which we stay busy and, at the partner level, generate business. Many of us want to be the first person called upon to handle the new case that is brought in, and want to be the leader of the team in the eyes of the client. With all the pressures to stay ahead of the pack, some of us succumb to jealous outbursts or defensive mechanisms when one of our colleagues gets more attention or becomes more important to a particular matter. During the course of my career at different law firms, I have seen partners physically push themselves in front of me when dropping into clients' offices to make it clear that they are the top dog; limit my role in their clients' cases, or limit my contact with their clients, when I was doing a better job or receiving more attention than they were; and become downright nasty to me after learning that a client wanted me to take the lead in a case and have them play a more limited role. (I did not ask to be positioned ahead of my colleagues in these situations, and much prefer to work with my colleagues as equally important members of a team dedicated to achieving the client's goals).
I learned long ago not to say or do things to provoke the jealousy of my peers. When I was a second year law student, interviewing for summer jobs with law firms, the offers seemed easy to come by, probably because I was fortunate enough to squeak onto Law Review. One of my classmates overheard me talking with a friend about the early success we both were experiencing, and he lashed out because his experience was quite different. I felt terrible, and from that moment have tried to be more circumspect when talking with others about my occasional successes. (I should add that I have had my share of setbacks in my career, and am constantly in the company of lawyers whose talents and accomplishments I very much admire.)
Lawyers who aspire to serving their clients well need to eschew professional jealousy and other forms of egocentric behavior. There is nothing to be gained by it, and much to lose. Law firms must work hard to promote cultures of collaboration, and to control competition among their lawyers.
It is not easy. We are competitive by nature, and we work in a competitive society and in hierarchical organizations that reward relative success. Indeed, internal competition, to a degree, can make us better. (I think of the way Lennon and McCartney wrote better and better songs by continuously trying to outdo one another.) There is a place for competition within a law firm, and it can help us all to be more successful. But when the positive results of competition transform into the destructive forces of jealousy and self-promotion, we harm our law firms, hurt each other, make ourselves unhappy, and perform a disservice to our clients. As Van says, "The only requirement is to know what is needed/In doing the best you know how, deliver on time." Lawyers who understand this philosophy, and put it into practice, have a far better chance of attaining success and personal satisfaction in their professional lives than those who allow self-concern overwhelm their service mentality.
Unfortunately, professional jealousy is a real, and very destructive, force in law firm practice. We work in a highly competitive profession. We compete with hundreds and even thousands of lawyers in other law firms. We also, all too often, compete with our colleagues in our own firms. We succeed or fail by the extent to which we stay busy and, at the partner level, generate business. Many of us want to be the first person called upon to handle the new case that is brought in, and want to be the leader of the team in the eyes of the client. With all the pressures to stay ahead of the pack, some of us succumb to jealous outbursts or defensive mechanisms when one of our colleagues gets more attention or becomes more important to a particular matter. During the course of my career at different law firms, I have seen partners physically push themselves in front of me when dropping into clients' offices to make it clear that they are the top dog; limit my role in their clients' cases, or limit my contact with their clients, when I was doing a better job or receiving more attention than they were; and become downright nasty to me after learning that a client wanted me to take the lead in a case and have them play a more limited role. (I did not ask to be positioned ahead of my colleagues in these situations, and much prefer to work with my colleagues as equally important members of a team dedicated to achieving the client's goals).
I learned long ago not to say or do things to provoke the jealousy of my peers. When I was a second year law student, interviewing for summer jobs with law firms, the offers seemed easy to come by, probably because I was fortunate enough to squeak onto Law Review. One of my classmates overheard me talking with a friend about the early success we both were experiencing, and he lashed out because his experience was quite different. I felt terrible, and from that moment have tried to be more circumspect when talking with others about my occasional successes. (I should add that I have had my share of setbacks in my career, and am constantly in the company of lawyers whose talents and accomplishments I very much admire.)
Lawyers who aspire to serving their clients well need to eschew professional jealousy and other forms of egocentric behavior. There is nothing to be gained by it, and much to lose. Law firms must work hard to promote cultures of collaboration, and to control competition among their lawyers.
It is not easy. We are competitive by nature, and we work in a competitive society and in hierarchical organizations that reward relative success. Indeed, internal competition, to a degree, can make us better. (I think of the way Lennon and McCartney wrote better and better songs by continuously trying to outdo one another.) There is a place for competition within a law firm, and it can help us all to be more successful. But when the positive results of competition transform into the destructive forces of jealousy and self-promotion, we harm our law firms, hurt each other, make ourselves unhappy, and perform a disservice to our clients. As Van says, "The only requirement is to know what is needed/In doing the best you know how, deliver on time." Lawyers who understand this philosophy, and put it into practice, have a far better chance of attaining success and personal satisfaction in their professional lives than those who allow self-concern overwhelm their service mentality.
This is a very good summary of what seems to be a real problem in private practice. I recently lateralled into a mid-level Vault top 100 firm from a Vault top 5 firm where I practiced for a number of years and have noticed with astonishment how a number of associates spend significant energy either comparing themselves to me or, even worse, trying to discredit or best me. Maybe it was because none of us really believed that we had a chance of making partner, but I never really noticed this level of hyper-competitiveness at my previous firm, where there was a strong spirit of comradery amongst the associates. I suspect some of the present posturing might have to do with people chasing the "brass ring," but I wonder if more of it can't be attributed to a more basic problem--a fundamental lack of self-confidence. My colleagues at my previous firm always strived to provide their best work for the partners and counsel and, with only one exception I can think of, never wasted time trying to outdo other associates. There was a mutual respect for each other. I wonder if some of the associates in the lower-ranking firms lack for whatever reason the self-confidence to enjoy this type of working relationship. In any event, I certainly hope the situation at my new firm improves. Enough stress is generated from needless arguments with opposing counsel. There is certainly no reason to add to that stress from relationships with those at home.
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