ACYL Side Bar
UNTAPPED RESOURCES
By J. Wickliffe Cauthorn
Cauthorn Nohr & Owen
[email protected]
H
ere’s a crazy idea: just because something has always
been done a certain way doesn’t mean it’s the right
way or the best way to do it.
This proposition may seem absurd to older lawyers; why
would anyone change the way something has been done
when it’s always been done that way? Seems like it’s always
worked, right? Crazy, huh? Maybe not to a younger lawyer.
One of the benefits of being new to the game is having fresh
eyes and a different perspective. When a young lawyer
joins a firm, he/she doesn’t have a book of business, he/
she doesn’t have any experience, and he/she soaks up
resources. The current business model seems to adjust for a
younger lawyer’s uselessness by requiring hours and hours
of billing. The only way that a firm can make money on a
young lawyer is to have them produce hours – memos to the
file, review of discovery, etc.
Perhaps the greatest untapped resources in your law firm
are the fresh eyes of your junior associates: eyes that haven’t
seen thousands of case files; eyes that haven’t seen clients
come and go; eyes that aren’t burdened by the blinders of
experience.
Our industry does not encourage young people to assert
themselves -- a young lawyer should be seen and not heard.
Maybe we should learn from other industries in this country
that have tapped into the creative energy of young people. In
the last twenty years, the technology industry has exploded
almost entirely because of the talents of people fresh out of
school with new ideas and new energy.
It’s time for our industry to do the same. Partners should
encourage young associates to participate and to speak up.
Young associates should have the courage and support to
inject their perspective into conversations with their superiors.
In doing so, we may find that the old ways of doing business
aren’t the best ways. We may find that, as attorneys, we can
provide services to clients in revolutionary new ways. We
may discover a 21st century way to practice law.
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
The next time you do something just because someone told
you or just because you’ve always done it that way; consider
that there might be a better way to do it. Consider that the kid
right down the hall might already have a new solution. Let’s
tap into the energy and creativity of our younger lawyers.
Let’s use all of the resources at our disposal to make our
practices as effective as they can be.
J. Wickliffe Cauthorn is a Member-at-Large of the ACYL
Board of Directors. Wick will author articles for the Side Bar
with ACYL section. Wick is an associate at Cauthorn Nohr
& Owen in Marietta where he represents clients in business
disputes, personal injury cases, and criminal defense
matters at the trial and appellate levels. He is as an exam
grader for the Georgia Bar Examination, and has authored
papers presented at continuing legal and judicial education
seminars. Wick is licensed to practice before the trial courts
in Georgia and New York. Wick serves as a member atlarge on the Board of Trustees of the General Practice and
Trial Section of the State Bar of Georgia. In his free time,
Wick enjoys spending time with close friends, attending
University of Georgia football games, and cooking. He is an
avid reader, a decent bowler, and a terrible golfer.
ACYL Side Bar is a bi-monthly column aimed
at providing young lawyers with a platform that
presents informative and resourceful content to
help answer challenging questions and shed light
on the journey of a new attorney.
November 2014
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
15