Career Clinic: Do big personalities exist at law firms?

There is no doubt that there are now fewer big characters at law firms. The downside of that is that law firms have become far more formalistic about who they recruit, when 20 or 30 years ago they were much more ready to take on individuals outside of a very narrow educational and social background.

The drive to institutionalise clients has also contributed to this, which is why a lot of partners are really just senior account managers. It’s only odd that lawyers then scratch their heads and ask why clients struggle to differentiate them. But the upside is that there are less loony, racist, bullying, sexual harassing, alcoholics kicking around the Square Mile, so it’s swings and roundabouts really.

Hmmm -26 Aug 2010 | 10:15

They actually don't.

Inspiring people usually are politicians, diplomats, working for think tanks and international organisations. Hollywood has desperately tried to depict lawyers as inspiring personalities living in an exciting and challenging world but the truth is that this is just Hollywood... No matter what practice group you are in, don't expect to be inspired by the partners at your firm unless you are limited yourself. Expect to be inspired by brilliant associates who leave the firm for totally different and truly amazing career paths though!

Andreas -26 Aug 2010 | 10:20

It's not you, it's the profession

First, good on you for being self-aware and observing the environment in which you exist on a day to day basis.

City partnerships are totally designed around preserving and increasing capital for the partners.

This crudely capitalist model generally feeds off the need for a few chiefs to plan and many minions to 'execute' often high pressure transactions in the context of a relatively dry/non-creative industry. Despite some efforts at appearances, there is rarely genuinely any room for a 'big personality' in the non-partner tiers.

Usually the big personalities are the partner end, particularly those who are very effective at bringing in business, hence always serving a purpose.

Figure out how much you are prepared to compromise your personality for your work environment and act accordingly.

Happiness is a cigar called working outside city private practice -26 Aug 2010 | 10:49

Big Personalities - Look Proactively for Inspiration

I don't work at a law firm, however we do work with law firms supporting their digital journey.

Checking out online resources is a good place to start to find the "personalities". It also I think depends on whether you are looking for specific personalities or experts in their fields. On Twitter there are several lawyers using Twitter to interact and connect so that may be a place to start to build relationships.

A few very communicative legal tweeters are

http://twitter.com/ADRIANDAYTON
http://twitter.com/London_Law_Firm
http://twitter.com/brianinkster

Also looking out for speakers at events is a good way to look out for people who have personality and something to say!

Claire Chapman -26 Aug 2010 | 11:16

Right then, charismatic corporate lawyers... you're in the wrong game, mate. Or maybe I'm being too harsh. I guess there are people like Nigel Knowles and Paul Maher, who seem to have done interesting things in their careers. Oh, and the people in that Halliwells/Kennedys Sheffield video on YouTube, they look like fun.

Tony Yeboah -26 Aug 2010 | 15:11

Sad But True

Big personalities are thin on the ground at most law firms but charisma has fallen out of fashion elsewhere, too - not just in law, but accountancy, business generally (is Richard Branson really the best answer we have to Warren Buffett?) and in politics.

Your post reminds me of my in-house colleagues' horror story about a boozy dinner with her husband's (big, corporate) firm. She was sat between one partner who kept saying "see, what you've got to understand about me is, I'm really, REALLY clever!" while the partner on the other side slurred "you know, when I draft a perfect clause in a contract, it's just the most beautiful feeling in the world!"

I think it's fair to say that the culture in law firms is such that conformity and protocol is valued over innovation and individuality. This is probably a function of the kind of detail-oriented, "thinking within the box" skills needed to do most legal work well. Only after some years in private practice did it dawn on me that, while I was surrounded by intelligent, mentally agile lawyers, I wouldn't be caught dead next to them at a dinner party because they were without a scrap of imagination and so devoid of any decent conversation - and my colleague's experience bears this out!

If Only Lord Denning Were Still Alive -26 Aug 2010 | 16:34

Always Be Closing

No, Company Men exist at law firms!!

Ricky Roma -27 Aug 2010 | 04:41

I agree with quite a few of the comments. Big personalities are frowned on in the big (and not so big) City firms as they threaten the partners. And of course no one can do that. It's a real shame too - as an ex-City associate I've met and worked with some really great people in practice that have done exactly what Andreas says and gone to pursue much more fulfilling and lucrative careers elsewhere.

The comment about two City firm partners arguing about how clever they were made me smile - they are all very clever but despite their cleverness they just can't cope with the fact that the whole point of practicing any type of commercial law is to make money not to score academic points. As soon as the whole profession becomes less Oxbridge-dominated this message will hit home - it is happening but it will take time. Its not that all Oxbridge City partners fall into this category, as there are always exceptional people in all walks of life, it's just that in my 10 years experience of practice it is quite widespread.

Life in City practices is dull. If you want excitement, use your legal training outside this sphere.

Anonymous -27 Aug 2010 | 10:04

If you go out and mingle with people from a variety of firms of all shapes and sizes, you'll find people who mirror the rest of society. Some are interesting and entertaining, some are just plain boring.

You'll find a wide number of reasons why people went into the law and people hailing from a variety of backgrounds and not just Oxbridge. There are inspiring people in all parts of the law, in firms great and small.

high street solicitor -27 Aug 2010 | 14:17

Why do the last two posters on this thread insist on bringing up the tired old Oxbridge theme? As a profession we're unhealthily obsessed by this. The original query has nothing to do with what university you went to.

Anonymous -27 Aug 2010 | 15:05

I cannot believe that this query has failed to produce even one actual example of a charismatic, inspirational lawyer.

Admittedly I don't have any examples (although as a tax lawyer I'm fully aware that my specialism isn't Personality Central), but surely there must be someone out there willing to pay tribute to an interesting character they once worked with...?!

Disappointed -31 Aug 2010 | 13:45

Big personalities do exist

...but probably not in big firms. I started off in a two-partner high street practice which was run by two very big personalities indeed. One partner used to cover reception at lunchtime and my job as the trainee was to run over the road and bring him a pint of Rev James back so he had something to pass the time with. He was also a big fan of people bringing their pets into the office rather than leaving them at home to pine.

The other partner had a number of eccentricities (dropping of trousers unexpectedly, exceptional timbre and timing of farts) who reached a high point when he threw a client out of reception for flirting with the receptionist. Only when said client tumbled to the pavement did the partner realise that the client had a wooden leg. Surprisingly they are both still practicing (hence not naming names).

I'm now at a top 100 firm, in the regions. Definitely more professional, but I'm glad I saw the other side for a while...

Happy Lawyer -31 Aug 2010 | 16:41

Big personalities

Shane Sayers and Geoffrey Lord at Kennedys?

City alumni -31 Aug 2010 | 17:44

Who do you think you are

So many people, especially lawyers, feel that they can't be themselves at work.

One of the most important things in life is to be yourself and to be in an environment that allows you to do that. In a word, authenticity.

How many people are there 'editing' themselves at work to protect other's egos - it's really quite scary and doesn't create engagement and is highly likely to suppress billings too over time, if many people feel like this.

I suggest you create a career goal to find a firm or different career where you can be who you are.

Rachel Brushfield -02 Sep 2010 | 10:01

I trained at a top 10 City practice and had to leave because I just couldn't surpress my naturally sceptical personality. I just couldn't take it all seriously, and the people who really got on in my trainee intake took it EXTREMELY seriously...

I'm now at an incredibly high quality niche firm operating at the top of its particular area of practice. My new firm is absolutely riddled with incredibly personable, funny, eccentric people whom I will never forget.

I suggest that if you want to work alongside genuinely nice, interesting people who aren't solely obsessed with their own career interests, then look away from the big City firms.

Anon -02 Sep 2010 | 16:51

Bags of personality

The firms I've worked at were/are full of big personalities, and judging by a huge number of people I know from the LPC and through work, these two firms were not unique.

If by 'big personalities' you mean people who describe themselves as 'crazy' or 'a bit mad' then, no, there are mercifully few of them kicking about the City, but I totally disagree that law firms lack characters.

Surprised, of Chancery Lane -07 Sep 2010 | 19:12

Law Firms are Dull

I had exactly the same realisation when i was training at a magic circle firm - except that I looked at the 2yr PQEs and thought they were very dull and started to panic that would be me very soon!! .... The strange thing is that, at university, the law undergrads are considered bright sparks with lively personalities.

The problem, as one of the previous posters alluded to, is how law firms have become completely institutionalised and the effect this has on the junior ranks...

It is also true that the brightest lawyers leave early on to pursue careers away from the law... and why I'm now really enjoying being an entrepreneur and the challenges of running my own business. I also get to speak to or meet far more interesting people in a week than i did in the whole of my training contract!!!!

Canon Fodder -08 Sep 2010 | 08:59

Big personalities

I was at SJ Berwin a while ago. There were plenty of huge personalities, and they contributed to making my time there intense but great fun (I mean it). Some of them are still there and I doubt that they've been tamed. But, be warned, big personalities can, and probably are, difficult and sometimes insufferable. Two sides of the same coin.

Clare -14 Sep 2010 | 09:32

Lacking personality

I'm a partner at a big City law firm. And I'm a bit boring. Sorry.

Partner -14 Sep 2010 | 17:01

have i made the wrong choice?

I currently work in sales for a large technology company (the banter's great and full of big personalities in sales as you can imagine) and have just started my LPC part-time at BPP. After reading the above posts I am shocked and and seriously reconsidering my decision. I can't believe that, not just for those who have left the industry, but also those still within it, barring a couple of exceptions, there is such a strong feeling of sterility and 'brushed aluminium' (anyone seen 'The Thick Of It'?) personalities pervading.

To add to the debate and picking up on a point made above, there is a flip side to big personalities and the environments you perhaps tend to find them in. I would draw a possible link between the instability and dynamism of an environment and the types of personalities you find within it. City law firms (perhaps until you get to partner level at least) seem very stable, steady places in comparison to sales where you're constantly hunting for opportunities and the majority of your earnings come from fluctuating, non-guaranteed commission. You could easily move to an industry (media?) or environment where the personalities are bigger, but my suggestion is, coming from someone on the other side of the fence and looking into law, there is always going to be a trade off when doing this. The question is, if you go for an environment where the personalities are bigger are you willing to pay that price? From where I'm sat the stability of the working environment in a City law firm looks quite appealing!

lpc late starter -15 Sep 2010 | 19:01

Nonsense!

Plenty of big personalities at Slaughter and May. Can't comment on other firms.

OhDear -17 Sep 2010 | 16:58

Banter

I work in the corporate department of a large city law firm and I can confirm that there is absolutely ZERO banter. I too look at the partners in my firm and think that whilst they are earning loads of cash their lives seem pretty dull and I think "do I want to be them in 20 years?" Suffice to say I am looking for my exit...

Will -05 Oct 2010 | 16:50