Lawyers often say that among the benefits of working at a larger law firm are the additional resources and practice areas a larger shop might have to better serve clients. Indeed, larger firms can help clients who might have legal needs across different locations and which may involve various areas of the law. However, just because a lawyer works at a law firm that has different practice areas and geographic footprints does not mean that an attorney will be able to marshal those resources well to serve a client.
I first realized this when I was working at a regional law firm around a decade ago. I originated a client that had a legal need in a jurisdiction in which I did not have much experience. However, our law firm had an office in the jurisdiction with attorneys who exclusively practice law in that jurisdiction. I was certain that these lawyers would be able to assist me with any questions I had or possibly even handle the work themselves given that they had more experience in that jurisdiction.
When I called attorneys in our law firm’s office in that jurisdiction, they were not very helpful, and they seemed upset that I was asking them for help. In some instances, they were even outright rude to me. I ended up having to do all of the work on the matter myself, and since I did not have form documents from prior matters in that jurisdiction, I had to reinvent the wheel in some instances even though the other lawyers at my law firm might have had a much easier time performing the work.
Lawyers at a law firm may not want to assist another attorney who works at the same shop for numerous reasons. Perhaps most importantly, the lawyer referred the work might not have any incentive to assist the other attorney. The lawyer who originated the business might receive credit for that client when it is time for promotions or during bonus determinations, but the lawyer performing the work might not receive a similar benefit. Lawyers might not want to go out of their way to help a colleague receive a benefit that they themselves will not realize, especially if they do not know this other attorney well.
In addition, helping another lawyer at a law firm might slow down another attorney and might make it difficult for the other attorney to meet billable hour expectations. Many lawyers work on large accounts, and it is much easier to bill time to larger clients since the lawyer does not need to relearn billing habits, make new client contacts, or spend administrative time on other tasks. When a lawyer needs to spend time on a smaller, new matter, this can take the lawyer away from easier tasks that the lawyers can handle for their typical clients.
Office politics might also make it difficult for a lawyer to help out another lawyer at their law firm with a new matter. Partners are often very territorial about their teams, and they may not want attorneys to work on a given matter rather than other assigned tasks. Moreover, attorneys may not wish to work on a new matter originated by a lawyer because attorneys may be jockeying for a promotion and one lawyer may not want to help support another lawyer in originating new business. In other instances, simple jealously may interfere with a lawyer at a law firm working on a new matter originated by another lawyer, especially if the lawyer doing the work has not originated new business on their own.
All told, there are some benefits of working at larger law firms, and if a lawyer at a shop has significant standing, they can likely refer a new and different matter to a lawyer without too many issues. However, lawyers should keep in mind that just because their firm can handle a matter does not mean that other attorneys at their shop will work on the matter to the best of their abilities.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothman.law.
