DOES EXPERIENCE MATTER IN LAW?

I recently came across the following article by John Foley for Thomson Reuters on 29 December 2022 and I was intrigued:

Boardrooms will rediscover the value of gray hair | Reuters

He mentions the following interesting facts: "More than 180,000 Americans will turn 65 each month in 2023, the?highest on record, according to a study from the St. Louis Federal Reserve. People are working longer, too. The share of European over-55s in jobs grew to 20% in 2019, from 12% in 2014, according to?official data. Retailer Target?scrapped its mandatory retirement age of 65 in September; Boeing?raised its maximum age to 70 in 2021.

Chief executives too are more senior than they were. The typical incoming CEO is 55, a decade older than the average in 2005, according to Crist Kolder Associates. Walt Disney?and Starbucks?brought back retired bosses Bob Iger and Howard Schultz in 2022, aged 69 and 71 respectively."

He goes on to state: "There’s a fine line between prizing expertise and entrenching boomer privilege. But fresh-faced innovators made a particularly poor showing in 2022." He refers to the examples of Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes of such a poor showing.

I then wondered how this relates to Attorneys and Law Firms???

I am immensely proud of our 132-year tradition of excellence here at Stegmanns Inc . Since being established in 1890, we have an amazing track record of pre-eminence in the legal profession in Pretoria ... for an extended period of time. (Contact me to find out more about our services at [email protected]) This means that we have an established standard of service and professionalism that all of our attorneys can aspire to achieve, and it also means that there is a degree of "institutional knowledge" (i.e. "institutional experience") within the Firm that is impossible for new entrants to replicate. However, if every client chose their Attorney solely based on the age of the Firm, then Thomson Snell & Passmore would get all the work in the world. ??

Is experience an important attribute for you to consider when appointing an Attorney?

Generally speaking, all attorneys graduate with a similar “legal” education. However, in practice, each attorney holds a very different relevance based on their legal experience, life experience, and continued education. Experience matters! Unlike many professions, attorneys are not required to declare a specialty. However, not all attorneys are equally qualified to handle all legal issues. What an attorney learns at university is a fraction of what the attorney needs to know in order to be effective in the courtroom, to be effective in negotiating settlements, to be effective in property (real estate) advice & registration, to be effective in drafting contracts, to be effective in IP Law, and to be effective in analyzing different legal issues.

The American Bar Association even publishes the Experience Magazine, surely an indication of how important it considers experience to be. Several years ago, the?New York Times?held up Judge Jack Weinstein as the paragon. Judge Weinstein was 96 years old at the time. He said, “I’ve never thought of retiring.” He is a senior federal district judge for the Eastern District of New York. At last report, he was going to work every day at 7 AM after exercising, and he was hearing motions in the morning and trying cases in the afternoon. (Click on the image for more about the Judge, who has unfortunately passed away.)

Peter Drucker famously characterized the careers of knowledge workers in similar ways. He observed that “knowledge workers are not ‘finished’ after 40 years on the job; they are merely bored.” Lawyers are living longer, their practice settings are changing, and the nature of the work itself is in flux. Retiring in place is harder to do.

I was unable to find the Statistics for South Africa at the time of writing. In the USA, 73% of lawyers in private practice say they want to practice law until they “die at their desks.” Going back several decades, the typical lawyer was younger than today. In 1980, the median age for all U.S. lawyers was 39. That’s more than seven years younger than the median age of 46.5 in 2021.

However, the rest of us are not Judge Weinstein. As a species, our energy, stamina, and mental fluidity begin to decline in our 20s. In our 60s, susceptibilities to disabilities, cognitive impairment, and mortality become statistically significant. On the other hand, our experience and relationships, our ability to recognize patterns, and the wisdom of our judgments continue to grow—up to a point. Troublesomely, that point is different for every person.

Having attended a number of "LegalTech Events" over the past few months has made me FEEL REALLY OLD. The average age of attending attorneys at these events is probably 20 years younger than me. The world is changing so fast (see my article on ChatGPT) that we can barely comprehend the speed of change, but these younger attorneys seem to have a far better grasp of it and an innate willingness to adapt and embrace such change.

Personally, this "elderly" attorney [@51 years old] still believes that RELEVANT experience should be the NUMBER ONE consideration in the appointment of a Legal Professional. However, a diverse team (race, gender, specialisation ... and Age) is crucial in covering all client requirements.