Law Department Management Blog
I interview many law department lawyers who are not direct reports to the general counsel. These intermediate and junior level lawyers consistently complain about the insufficiency of communication from the leadership group. They want to know what goes on behind closed doors, among the elite. Sadly, if they actually knew, much of what transpires in the leadership group is page D4 material, not front page. Still, the yearn to learn persists.
The same lawyers usually chime in with a desire to have more communication across the department, between practice groups. They want to know what is going on, almost in a gossipy way. Yet, they never complain about any obligation they might feel to tell those below them about anything.
It’s human nature to want to be in the know; no one wants to feel excluded. But I often wonder what the lawyers think they would do differently having heard all the chatter that would result from so much circulation of communication.