Canadian Lawyer InHouse

JULY 2017 22 INHOUSE ever it takes to get it done. They said, 'We understand you're a growing business and we want to grow with you.' I had a really interesting experience with a U.K. firm where after an hour conversa - tion the partner said should I bill you for this time because I want to make sure you're getting value for this conversation. We un- derstand you are new to the U.K. and for us this is bread and butter advice. I said, 'Abso- lutely, I'm prepared to pay you for your time because your advice is valuable to me' and I thought it was a fresh approach. I hadn't seen anyone else approach it that way before. VESELY: I find that jurisdiction matters, too. I transferred from our New York office to our San Francisco office when I was in pri - vate practice and I thought the San Francisco market was very geared to startups. I was on the phone constantly and you never billed those guys, but they will come back to you when they are ready and that's something younger lawyers need to learn in terms of building their practice through these relationships. I'm also finding a guy I used a lot in New York just went home to Michigan to a smaller firm and I called him immediately because his billing rate is going to be about a third of what it was. Finding those relationships and where people sit — whether Philadelphia or Tallahassee — it matters. COTRONEO: Waterloo, Hamilton, here. I absolutely agree that jurisdiction matters. NGUYEN: I was speaking to the managing partner of a smaller boutique firm yesterday and he was saying he has no billing targets for his junior lawyers. I thought that was really interesting. He said he just wants his junior lawyers to focus on doing good work and giving good value and not worry about billing. I thought that was really refreshing. STERNTHAL: I remember meeting with a large U.K. firm and their ethos was that they knew they would be on short list for bet-the- farm litigation, but the thought was to stay engaged in the short term and, when they submit their bills for the big litigation, their clients would think about the other things they did along the relationship journey. Do the firms you deal with do the same? VESELY: I like when I see lawyers who are writing on my area of business. I think these become calling cards and some firms give you credit for business development and some firms don't. COTRONEO: I think some of my external counsel's advantage has been in training some of my junior lawyers or training new executives. We just brought on a new CCO and just getting the value and wisdom of Because business issues are legal issues. So if you want to get ahead in business, get the degree that gets you there faster. ONE YEAR – PART - TIME – NO THESIS FOR L AWYERS AND NON - LAWYERS }«°>Ü°ÕÌÀÌ°V> GPLLM Global Professional Master of Laws [Get a Master of Laws] ntitled-10 1 2017-06-06 3:28 PM

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