“Some of the Partners’ Infighting Was Apparent to Us”

… groaned the GC, commenting on the competition going on between two partners from a large law firm who battled right in front of him for his attention. Each of the two partners wanted the right to be credited as “Billing Partner” and in addition appeared to hate each other with sibling-rivalry intensity.

So in this case, what’s a law department to do? Do you tell them to battle it out alone and then let you know who wins? Do you pick one and let the other one ride? Do you kill them all and let their managing partner sort ‘em out?

When more than one lawyer is meeting with a client, the choreography of such meetings – including the exact roles of each of the players – should be explicitly determined beforehand. And deftly acted out during the meeting. So, maybe the answer is: fire them both, and hire another law firm?

By guest author Bruce Heintz