How do you build a teamwork mentality within people?
I have been here at Fox Rothschild for 24 years. I have been
blessed to come to the place where we have, in practice, an atmosphere of
collegiality and team building. And throughout my tenure here, just as others
have reached out to me, I have reached out to others. That is how we have
evolved as a firm culturally.
For instance, individuals who may have come from a different
firm with a different set of cultural guidelines, may prove themselves to be a
problem in the event that they are not respectful and don’t treat associates as
part of a team, as opposed to workers and those sorts of things. How we and I
have run the litigation department is very much a team-oriented approach. We
have 15 offices in eight states, and essentially any associate or partner may
be working on a matter within a different office cross-coast. We frequently
exchange our cases and staff throughout those 15 offices with individuals from
other offices. We do that because our team has been seamless. In a seamless
company, everyone has to feel like they’re part of a team and working toward a
common goal.
How do you encourage collaboration among employees?
It is so important for everyone to have that accessibility.
People know that they can come into my office and talk to me. I am somewhat
crazy, because I’m juggling 18 different things in the practice as well as a
number of other things apart from litigation at Fox Rothschild.
It is very important for people to see that you’re interested,
that you have a vested interest in their success. The success of your people
ultimately reflects very positively back at you, so we as a firm and a
department are very open to assisting younger lawyers trying to develop their
practices, to partners trying to develop their practices. I very much focus on
associates and really suggest that they also get out there and give back to the
community, because that is something they’ll get back tenfold, and it’s also a
way of meeting others, networking and starting their practice.
As a leader, you want to give people face time because it
makes them feel important, like you have a million things on your plate but
you’ve made them a priority. That is a very natural thing to want, because when
people are working hard, they want to feel like they’re validated, and they
should feel that way.
How do you ensure that you are always making time to engage
your associates?
I never let anything get between me and that. We have very
stressful calendars and cases, and all litigators know that, because we have
the very same schedule, that time is precious, and we often jam it with a
million different things. But if you proceed and carry yourself in a way in
which you’re communicating the fact that you are out there and walking around
the hallways, you can make those connections, and that can be really huge to
your success.
How to reach: Fox Rothschild LLP, (215) 299-2000 or www.foxrothschild.com
