managingpartners

It is axiomatic that if you want to have a successful legal career, you need to learn your craft. Most areas of legal practice require highly refined analytical abilities coupled with good judgment. For the most part, the first developmental task of any new lawyer is to learn how to practice law.

But if you want to advance in your career, you need to be more than a good technician.  Demonstrating executive presence is also key.

In this episode, I am pleased to introduce John Buckley, Board Secretary and General Counsel for the North Carolina operations of a multinational mobility infrastructure company.  John talks about how building your executive presence is critical to advancing your career, especially if you want to want to take on leadership responsibilities.

In a great conversation, John discusses what executive presence is, who needs it, and what it looks like. He offers his practical tips on how increase your own executive presence.

Over the summer, I heard John give a great presentation on this topic for the American Bar Association and I decided I had to have him on the show.  Lucky for me, he accepted my invitation right away.

John Buckley has served 3 times as the first in-house counsel for start-ups.  He has 15 years of solo/small law department General Counsel experience.  He began his professional life as an engineer for Duke Power.

Additional Resources

• Ted Lasso (🍎TV+) and Lessons in Leadership and Performance
• 15 Tips for Leadership Success
• Episode 118-Paths to Partnership in 2023 and Beyond-With Laura Terrell
• Episode 103-Ben Sachs on Building High-Performance Legal Teams
• Episode 87-The Advancement of Women in Law with Elise Holtzman
• Episode 80-Leadership for Lawyers-Moving Up in Your Law Firm or Corporate Law Department

Tom Parker and Layne Bodily of FBP CPA first joined Randy on Episode 36, where they discussed their co-founding of the firm in Itasca, Illinois and their vision for their venture. Tom and Layne discuss its evolution so far, the challenges they’ve faced around the pandemic, employee retention, and establishing structures and best practices. As well, Layne has resiliently responded in the face of a cancer diagnosis, with the team and clients of FBP rallying around him.

Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com.

We talk a lot on this podcast about marketing and career management.  While great lawyers have great technical skills, getting the work you want and advancing your career, requires a different set of skills. The same is true for lawyers who move from being an individual contributor to taking on leadership roles in their firm or in their corporate law department.

In this episode, I speak with an expert on how to make a successful transition into leadership.  We discuss the things you should be thinking about if you have already made that move.  Whether you are chairing a department for the first time, new to the role of managing partner at your firm, or promoted to general counsel, this is a great conversation for you.

My guest, Steve Smith is the President of GrowthSource Coaching, an Orange County CA based business and executive coaching company.  Steve serves business professionals that want to become extraordinary leaders and savvy business owners.  He has coached nearly 600 clients over 14 years and enjoys moments when his clients gain the clarity that lets them know they can achieve what they want.  He has worked with many lawyers, and I am very pleased to say that he is my own coach! 

There are many paths to success in a law firm.  I’ve emphasized on this podcast that growing your practice is a good place to start.  Having your own clients gives you a sense of ownership that is hard to achieve when you are just servicing firm clients.  If you have your own book of business, there is more opportunity to focus on the work you enjoy and the clients you like.  

For some, getting involved in the management of a firm is another way to find more fulfillment.  But it is not for everyone.

I once heard someone say that managing a law firm is like being the only fire hydrant in a town filled with dogs. David Maister and Patrick McKenna put it another way in their book First Among Equals.  When you are running a professional services firm, you must lead through influence rather than authority.

In this episode, I have a great conversation with David Rosenblatt who has been one of the longest serving Managing Partners in the Boston legal market.  He has served as Managing Partner at Burns & Levinson since 1998.

During that time, David has seen a lot of changes in the practice of law and a lot of changes at his own firm.

A few months ago, the firm announced that David would be stepping down from the role in 2023 and I thought it would be a great opportunity to speak to David and get him to reflect on his experience.

In this episode, we talk about David’s career, the changes he has seen, what has been most fulfilling for him, what advice he has for lawyers thinking about law firm management, and a host of other topics.