Lessons from Richard Branson for lawyers

“What is a business? A business is simply coming up with an idea that is going to make people’s lives better.” Sir Richard Branson 

Sir Richard Branson is one of the most celebrated entrepreneurs in history – a self made billionaire business magnate, investor and philanthropist. His net worth is currently valued by Forbes at US $5 billion.

The story of his rise from starting a student magazine to launching Virgin Records, its subsequent sale to EMI in the 1990’s, through to setting up an airline and his considerable philanthropic efforts, are well documented in Sir Richard’s first autobiography Losing My Virginity. His latest autobiography, Finding My Virginity, picks up the story from where the previous book left off and covers the continued growth of the Virgin Group to becoming one of the greatest brands in history.

Sir Richard is currently doing a series of interviews promoting his latest book. He is a fascinating, albeit sometimes controversial character, and love him or loathe him, is someone anyone in business can learn from - including lawyers.

At the core of Sir Richard's business philosophy is the idea of helping solve problems to make people's lives better.

Law is a business

“Law is a business” is something that I constantly tell lawyers I work with.

Read that again. Fully appreciating and remembering this fact will put you in good stead throughout your career. 

A considerable proportion of my candidate base are high achieving lawyers at international law firms or “Big Law” as these firms have come to be known as. At these firms – with luxurious offices overlooking Wall Street, Canary Wharf or Sydney Opera House and with even junior lawyers being billed out at hundreds of dollars per hour, it is easy to lose focus of the fact that Law firms are simply a business providing a service to their clients – regardless of whether or not those clients are ASX or FTSE listed companies, or individuals on the high street.

A partner with a successful practice who has practiced at a firm for 20 years will have witnessed clients and colleagues come and go. They will have witnessed technology completely change the way law is practiced. They will have witnessed numerous different economic climates – from Black Monday and the GFC through to the dot com and mining booms. 

However, at the heart of it all, the fundamental business of practising law has remained the same. Lawyers are in the business of helping their clients solve problems.  

Solving Problems

If you are working flat out on a deal, wading through documents in a data room, it can be easy to forget this. However, the best lawyers are always solving problems.

This doesn’t simply apply to partners solving problems for clients. 

As a junior or mid level lawyer you should be solving problems for the Senior Associates and Partners in your team. Help make their life easier in little ways whilst working on a transaction.

• Make life easy - ensure emails and advice notes are in a format that requires as little effort as possible for senior lawyers to review and send.
• Detailed questions - ask detailed questions and take full instructions on tasks at the beginning rather than having to repeatedly go back to clarify later.
• Be proactive - if you identify problems come back with suggested solutions rather than just identifying the issue at hand.
• Processes – if processes can be improved or made more efficient then suggest improvements. Senior lawyers who aren’t “at the coal face” may not realise that processes are inefficient and could be easily improved.
• Energy - Be present, available, engaged, positive and enthusiastic. Your energy and attitude will carry others along with you and will support in more ways than you simply being a good lawyer.

It may not be your role to produce an earth shattering piece of advice or revolutionary legal product or concept which is going to save a client millions of dollars. However, making life easier for senior lawyers and partners may give them more time to do so!

Law is a business. Remembering this and helping make your colleagues and clients’ lives easier is a sure fire way to fast track your own career. As you develop and grow as a lawyer, it will also help you develop and train more junior team members who will in turn be equipped to support you in a meaningful way.

Marsden

My job is to make lawyers’ lives easier by finding the right role, and to make partners’ lives by finding the right candidate.

Marsden is instructed on a variety of private practice and in-house roles globally ranging from White Shoe firms in New York, through to blue chip organisations in Europe, to top and mid tier private practice opportunities in Australia.

To find out how we can make your life easier please email: [email protected] or call 02 8014 9059.