Bottom Line Law: A Legal Blog for Business

April 9, 2014

Everyone knows that lawyers are an indispensable part of life and business. We use lawyers in the best of times and in the worst of times. We use lawyers to build and sometimes to tear down. We ask lawyers to solve our problems and sometimes just to help us face them. Most important, we hire lawyers to tell us what they think. No, lawyers are not super heroes. But lawyers can be super important, especially when we need one. And sooner or later, everyone needs one. What we want is a good lawyer.

That is the point of this blog. Welcome to Bottom Line Law. The inspiration for this blog comes about from a crucial question that every lawyer should be asking themselves: what makes for a good lawyer? I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about my business. I co-founded my law firm, Crosby & Higgins LLP, almost ten years ago, so now is a good time to take stock of what we have done well and what we can do better. After all, no matter how well things are going, there are always opportunities to do better.

Turns out, there’s a lot you can do better. In the end though, I keep returning to that same simple question: What makes us good lawyers? Not in a thousand words. Not with conditions and qualifiers. Just the bottom line, all things considered. If I had to jot down the answer on the back of a napkin, like an entrepreneur being asked to explain their business model at a dinner party, what would my napkin say?

It’s a good question. Like a lot of experienced law firms, at one time or another we have worked on almost every type of matter you can imagine, from starting a new business to dissolving one, and everything that happens in between. We have worked on sophisticated transactions, complex business disputes, fraud cases, IP licensing and infringement, corporate governance problems, internal investigations, government inquiries and more. We have handled trials, appeals, arbitrations, mediations, and brass knuckle negotiations, working with and litigating against some of brightest legal minds that money can buy. We have probably seen just about everything.

But is that what makes us good lawyers? Is that what I would write on the back of my napkin? No, it is not.

The back of my napkin is the bottom line because what I have focused on each and every day as a lawyer is getting a client to their bottom line. And doing so quickly. Not because I want to impress clients with analytical prowess. Not because clients are uninterested in the complexity and nuances of the law. Not because “I’m on the clock” trying to save a client from those endless conference calls that wander about without advancing the action. No.

I do it because that is the way that things actually work. Legal matters are no different than any other challenge or opportunity in business. Whether everything is coming up roses or the sky is falling, the framework remains the same. Every good lawyer recognizes this and quickly gets to the bottom line. And then keeps that bottom line in focus as the client travels along their legal journey. A good lawyer quickly:

A. Identifies the challenge or opportunity;

B. Articulates and confirms the client-defined definition of success;

C. Locates the key assumptions/risks/tasks that separate point A from point B; and

D. Recommends the path that maximizes the chances of getting there and then executes on it.

This is the bottom line, no matter the factual, legal or moral context. It is not about an endless list of hedges and qualifiers. It is not about talking in circles or waxing philosophical. What every legal representation is about is having the discipline and focus to get the client to their bottom line. And it starts on the very first phone call. A good lawyer will quickly take you through the ABCs of the legal representation at the start. A good lawyer will take you to the bottom line because that’s what you are hiring them to do.

If they do not, you have the wrong lawyer. Just as you wouldn’t invest your capital in a business that can’t explain the bottom line of how they plan to turn a profit, there is every reason for you to be uncomfortable with a lawyer that cannot clearly articulate the ABCs of the situation and get you to the bottom line. If a lawyer cannot do that from the start, in about an hour, it is unlikely that they will ever have the discipline and focus to get you there. Just as few businesses can succeed without keeping a watchful eye on the bottom line, few lawyers will ever be successful representing your interests if they can’t get to the bottom line and then keep you there.

That is why I am a bottom line lawyer.

In the months ahead, we’ll be talking a lot about bottom line lawyering, and applying it to real world situations. From the art of selecting and managing a lawyer to the nuts and bolts of transacting business and dealing with litigation, Bottom Line Law will be here to cut through the chatter and get you to the bottom line. We will be answering your questions, examining common fact patterns, and weighing in on the major legal events of the day. Through it all we will maintain the discipline and mental focus to get to the bottom line. That’s our promise. Because that’s what good lawyers do.

BLL

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