Passive Management : Is Anyone Actually Steering the Ship ?
By Mark Bassingthwaighte
I have worked with over one thousand law firms over the years and it certainly seems to me that a number of smaller law firms around the country are being passively managed . Is this a problem ? Well , yes , it very well could be .
Now I define passive management as reactive decision making or making decisions only when absolutely necessary . Often in such firms the managing partner is serving on a part-time basis without compensation and their primary responsibility is to address staffrelated issues and administrative functions when deemed necessary . The reality is that in a firm being passively managed , no true firm leadership exists . From a business perspective , no one is steering the ship .
This seems to be particularly true in smaller firms for any number of reasons . The managing partner may have concerns over how his or her actions may be perceived by the other partners . Such concerns might be a fear of being perceived as playing favorites , overly protective , or unduly harsh . Other managers avoid tough decisions altogether , perhaps with the naïve hope the problem will eventually go away if it is ignored long enough . Heaven forbid anyone ever question the propriety of a decision ! Sometimes the underlying problem may be as simple as a fear of jeopardizing the partner-to-partner friendships that originally brought the group together . Of course , there will always be those few who simply have no idea what to do with the problem at hand . Worse yet , are those situations where the entire group of attorneys decides to manage by consensus . This is the ultimate when it comes to the lack of a ship ’ s captain , because in these firms , decisions are made at the speed of molasses if they are made at all .
There is a downside to passive management due to associated malpractice concerns , and this is where the problem lies . Consider a situation where a partner is seriously depressed as a result of going through a difficult divorce . As this divorce drags on , financial pressures mount and the attorney begins to demonstrate a growing reliance on alcohol . Now personal friendships and even loyalty come into play and this attorney , who may be developing a true impairment , receives support from his peers at the firm . Although personally supporting this attorney through a personal crisis is admirable and quite appropriate , if the professional side of this personal crisis is not also responsibly managed , malpractice claims can and will arise . For example , should this attorney ’ s files be reviewed or his calendar checked once any warning signs start to appear ? That would seem prudent given that impaired attorneys often end up neglecting client matters ; but this often won ’ t happen in a passively managed firm .
As the above demonstrates , one real risk of passive management is in a firm often failing to proactively address the professional side of any developing crisis . Yes , when faced with a malpractice claim most of these firms respond by having management , in whatever form it exists , step in ; however , it is often too little , too late . The unfortunate outcome ends up being a change in the makeup of the firm , and this change is not always limited to the firm divorcing itself from the problem attorney . Accountability for the situation naturally falls on the managing partner , which can result in a firm split or dissolution .
In contrast to this , actively managed firms are proactive and they take additional steps in an attempt to prevent possible claims from arising . In response to the situation described above , an actively managed firm might conduct file review at the first sign of trouble , perhaps assign a mentor , or the attorney of concern could be granted a temporary reduction in workload until he gets his life back on track . These ideas are reflective of methods that would professionally support an attorney who is struggling . If substance abuse , as an example of a full-blown impairment , becomes a known and legitimate concern , additional steps , such as requiring successful completion of an addiction treatment program as a necessary condition of remaining with the firm , become essential . Certainly , this is a more difficult road to go down ; however , the hoped for outcome would be to maintain the overall integrity of the firm coupled with the eventual recovery and retention of a valuable firm asset , the subject attorney himself .
If certain aspects of a passive management style exist at your firm , consider strengthening your firm ’ s management and leadership capabilities . Steps that might be taken include formalizing a management position by creating a job description and having an open and honest discussion about the degree of authority that will
14 THE GAVEL