Discovery Summer 2018 % Volume 4, No. 2
the newsletter from washington and lee university school of law
ALUMNI IN MANAGEMENT:
The Challenges and Rewards of Leading Complex Law Firms BY LINDA EVANS
T
he days when a young law school graduate could hang up a sign and start a practice are rapidly becoming old school. More and more, from the vantage point of several Washington and Lee Law School alumni, law is becoming a big business. Law firms have become complex organizations needing expert leadership to meet challenges and move strategically into the future. TOM MITCHELL ’93L, chair of the management committee at Moore & Van Allen in Charlotte, North Carolina, finds himself dealing nearly full time with such issues as compensation, recruitment, budgeting and marketing. “Strategic growth and recruiting are a big part of the job,” he said. Mitchell has transitioned his financial services practice to younger partners and spends his time on business development and firm management – “making sure things are moving in the right direction” for the firm, which represents a variety of blue-chip clients, including nine of the 12 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in North Carolina. Overseeing a large, multi-location firm is “a balancing act between management and practice,” says LARRY BARDEN ’82L, management committee chair since 2014 at Sidley Austin, in Chicago. “I love staying close to client work, but my partners remind me that I also have a responsibility to them and the firm,” which has grown to 20 offices in 10 countries, generating $2 billion in gross revenue last year. Consequently, he splits his time between advising clients and corporate boards and his firm responsibilities. Having been involved in practice management and the firm’s executive committee for 20 years, Barden describes his latest role as not only overseeing firm performance, but also leading the firm’s strategic direction, looking for growth opportunities and recruiting lateral partners. Taking the business model to another level, JOHN KLINEDINST ’71, ’78L has a law degree and an M.B.A. Knowing he always wanted to go into business — even while in law school — he opened a one-person law firm in San Diego in 1983. Klinedinst PC now has 70 lawyers in five California locations. Klinedinst serves as CEO and oversees an executive committee of four members, with each branch office run by a
managing shareholder. Unlike management partners at most larger firms, Klinedinst and his management team continue practicing as active lawyers, which “gives you a much better understanding of changes taking place in the legal market; you are closer to trends, and
LIZANNE THOMAS ’82L, partner-in-charge of the South U.S. Region for Jones Day, in Atlanta, jokes that her job is “70 percent client work, 70 percent management and 70 percent other responsibilities.” She and her management colleagues in the firm’s other regions “are expected to be active practitioners
“I love staying close to client work, but my partners remind me that I also have a responsibility to them and the firm.” –Larry Barden
able to manage and adapt to maximize success,” he said. While there have been numerous overtures for him to sell or merge with other firms, Klinedinst has resisted, believing attorneys at his firm can grow faster with more hands-on experience than at a bigger firm, while also having expanded opportunities to take on vital leadership roles.
and do management around the edges.” She represents public companies on such issues as mergers and acquisitions and fiduciary issues, while overseeing her geographic region (offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Houston) and serving on the partners committee. (continued on page 4)
Law Alumni Weekend 2019 is April 12-15! Celebrating reunions for the law classes of ’69, ’74, ’79, ’84, ’89, ’94, ’99, ’04, ’09 and ’14, as well as our Legal Legacies (any alum who graduated more than 50 years ago).