Professional Favors

My default personality setting is that of a nice and helpful guy.  When someone asks for a favor,  I tend to agree.  As I age, this has changed.


An exception is young people.  I was fortunate to have excellent mentors in life, beginning with my father.  As a young lawyer, one man in particular, my friend Mike's father Ed, truly took me under his wing and taught me invaluable lessons about being a lawyer.  Chief among these is the fact that he taught me about martinis...


To honor his memory, whenever one of the Ds'friends needs advice, or a referral for a job, or recommendation for the Bar, I always comply.  Sometimes the young person gets it, and thanks me.  Often they don't -- just assuming that older lawyers are there to serve at their pleasure.  The ones who show gratitude tend to soar.  Those who don't often stay in mediocrity.  I could graph this relationship...

Yesterday one of the young associates of another lawyer asked my advice.  She was handling a nasty matter for her brother, whose wife had committed a felony, and left their business exposed to a major PI case.  The lawyer's boss, a shoot from the hip fellow, directed the young lawyer down a path that he thought was simple -- but had the sense to have her speak to me first.  I pointed out that, had she taken the path suggested by her boss, a nightmare could easily have resulted for the firm, including Bar charges...The senior lawyer came in today and started crowing about a new case he had.  I reminded him he meant to publicly thank me first.  He sheepishly did...

Then, today, another young lawyer called from court to ask I do a MAJOR favor by asking a friend in law enforcement to assist him in a case.  No, I answered -- the case was too small, and there was no real upside.

People who ought to know better don't often appreciate how significant favors are.  I rarely ask them, and when I do, understand  what they mean -- particularly in law.

My mentors taught me that representing clients is a serious business.  When an opposing lawyer asks for a favor in handling a case -- that's fine -- but you have to ask what there will be for your client in return.  Gratuitously allowing the other side favors without getting something in return is the mark of an amateur.  It happens all too often.

My mentor Ed gave me a lead for my second job as a lawyer.  Wifey and I were struggling financially at the time, but I made sure to take Ed and Joyce, his wife, to a very nice dinner.  A year later, Ed gave me another lead for a job -- for a firm owned by his friend, and a place I learned how to make real money as a lawyer.

Four years later, I brought in a case that turned out to be a whopper.  Ed shared in the fee, since he did all the firm's trial support.  When the case ended, I asked my boss if I could deliver the co counsel check to my mentor.  It was substantial -- in excess of $200K.  My boss said that was fine.

I remember it like yesterday -- I appeared in his office in the Concord Building on Flagler Street, envelope in hand.  I again thanked him for getting me the job, and saying I was happy it worked out all around -- I could now return the favor.  I handed him the check, and he looked at the amount.  He got teary eyed -- the amount was nice, but Ed was already a pretty wealthy guy.  The protege rewarding the mentor was so sweet -- things coming full circle.

We went to Sally Russell's Restaurant, and sat at his reserved table.  He ordered us a couple of martinis ('this freaking big") and we toasted. 

Favors are significant things...