[00:00:00]
Scott Benton: Hey everyone, it’s Scott Benton. I am the host of the Classroom to Courtroom podcast. How are you? This is a podcast dedicated to transitioning law school students from law school up through graduation, past the bar, getting your bar ticket so that you can practice law and become an actual professor, professional attorney and joining a law firm in your first job as a lawyer. And we are here to make that transition easy. And we’re here to explain what it means to practice law. Something that is not taught in law schools, not taught in the bar prep courses and is often left to the law firms to teach you how to practice law. But we thought that it would probably be a good idea if we started up a podcast teaching you how to practice law in the first place so that when you showed up on your first day for your first job as an attorney and you sit down, [00:01:00] you already have these skills built in.
Scott Benton: So today’s question that we’re going to look at is, we’re going to answer the question of, what changes after you graduate law school and pass the bar and get your attorney ticket? What changes in that moment when you’re finally an attorney after all of that work that you’ve done and in many cases, all of that expense that you’ve gone through to get to that point where you are an attorney?
You’re now staring at your first job. You may have walked into the office and there on the door is your name with that little E S Q after it. Maybe that’s what’s printed on your business card as well. But the question is, what’s changed? What in this moment has changed? You are coming into this position and this is going to be a new law firm. So chances are that, there are a number of things that you’re now going to have to learn. Mostly starting out at a law firm, you’re going to have to learn all of their [00:02:00] systems. So they’re going to have systems for everything, they’re going to have systems for, how you access the case files?
They’re going to have systems for, how you do your job? They’re going to have systems for, how you request time off? They’re going to have systems for, how you log your time and build your clients? They’re even going to have systems for, how you make coffee and lattes in the morning? And it’s going to be important that you learn all of the systems, which is going to take some time so that when you show up every day in your job as an attorney, you can get to work right away and not get derailed or bogged down by some system that you don’t know, haven’t learned. Maybe there are forms that you fill out that you need to know. So, these are all kinds of things that you’re gonna have to really dig into and know backwards and forwards. So that you are not stopped by some kind of glitch that comes up, you’re going to need to know your computer platforms, you’re going to need to know all types of stuff, how to submit for reimbursements. But that’s not really something that changes.
Those [00:03:00] are just going to be factors that you’re going to have to confront in every law firm that you join. Whether it’s your first job or your 10th job, each law firm is going to be a little bit different in how they’re set up. So, you’re really going to have to learn those systems no matter where you go, no matter who you are, no matter how smart you are, it’s just going to be a case of having to learn a whole bunch of new material. And you’re just going to have to start from scratch from every little new job assignment that you get with a new firm. But the question really is, what changes the minute you get your bar ticket, the minute you can practice law?
Well, not a whole lot. You can now represent clients in a court of law. So there are changes that take place just in the legal community. You can now take on your own cases and in most circumstances that’s what’s going to happen. You’ll join a firm and they’re going to say here’s your case list, you’re going to have to learn those cases, you’re going to have to contact the clients directly. You’re now, instead of working for an attorney who is handling a caseload, it’s now [00:04:00] you who are the attorney handling the caseload. So that has changed and just by virtue of being able to appear in a courtroom before a judge, that’s something new also and so that has changed.
But really, as far as your knowledge goes of the law, that hasn’t really changed. You’re going to have to continue to learn every aspect of the law that you can as cases come up and there are new areas that you don’t know or understand. You’re going to have to dig in and do the research and learn those areas of law as well. So, that hasn’t really changed. So the question boils down to really, what has changed? And so what we want to look at is the mindset. The mindset has changed. So you want to make sure that you are changing your mindset from that of a legal student, someone who’s in law school to an attorney and that mindset is very different.
And the reason that you want to change your [00:05:00] mindset is because, you are now a part of the business of law services. So not only do you join a firm and not only do you begin to practice legal services but you also have to start to learn the business of law. So that’s a real important component to understand the business of law is, what you must pay attention to in addition to the practice of law. Now, law schools are teaching you theory, okay? And so you’re learning how to do research and look up legal components and you’re given cases that you need to deconstruct and figure out which laws apply to it and which laws don’t.
But once you become an attorney, understand that law firms are set up primarily to generate a profit. And that’s something that all businesses do, all businesses are set up to generate a profit. So, you are now a part of that business. As an [00:06:00]attorney, you are a revenue generator. Not everybody in a firm generates revenue. In other words, your revenue comes from the billings that you do in your cases and your clients are responsible for paying. They are hiring you to perform legal tasks, to reach a legal goal that they want to get to, that they have hired you to help them with. And so you are, by virtue of the work you’re doing, by virtue of your expertise in this field, you are able to perform those services and you are able to bill your clients. So you are a revenue generator.
There are other positions in the firm that you’re going to see that people hold maybe like, a receptionist. Receptionist isn’t generating revenue typically. Sometimes they do if they are billing time for other tasks that are being performed. But in general, they are busy taking care of the office and they’re not generating revenue but you as an attorney, you are. So therefore, you’re tied into the business of a [00:07:00] law firm, the business of law. And a law firm, like I said is, established in order to generate revenue. So you must understand that you’re going to have a minimum billable hour requirement that you are responsible for reaching each and every day.
But when we look at the minimum billable requirement, understand what the firm needs to keep itself going. Yet that’s not what the firm is in business to do. A firm is not in business to just survive and to keep going. They are in business to generate a profit and to generate as much profit as they possibly can. So you as an attorney, even a brand new attorney, it is your responsibility not only to hit that those minimums so that the law firm can just continue to survive. It is your responsibility to exceed those minimums. You are helping that law firm to generate as much profit as possible. They hired you because they saw somebody that they believed would be an asset to [00:08:00] them and help them generate as much profit as possible by selling your time, by selling your legal services.
And that’s what they’re in business to do. So, there are really primarily two things that have shifted once you get your attorney ticket. One of those is your mindset, you’re no longer in the salad days of being a law student in law school. You’ve accomplished your goal and you’ve reached your objective. You have become an attorney and so you must step into that persona. You must change those shoes, so to speak, from student to attorney to lawyer and you need to make sure that you are actively using that time in the beginning to shift your mindset out of legal theory into legal practice, into active legal practice.
And the second thing that has changed is, you are now a key component to that law firm’s business. So you are involved in the business of law and you need to see [00:09:00] that part of it and begin to learn the business of law and understand that a business is in place to generate profit and you must do everything you can so that you are generating that profit for them. Because ultimately, the bottom line is, that’s going to end up in your paycheck, that’s going to end up in your bonus, that’s going to grow the law firm, that’s going to advance your career and that is the target that you are trying to hit not only reach your minimum billable hours but to exceed them and exceed them greatly.
So I hope that’s been helpful. If you like this podcast, Classroom to Courtroom, you can always go to our website, if you’d like to be alerted every time we put out new material and if you’re finding this helpful, you can provide us with your name and your email address. We’re also trying to build a community there, if you’d like to leave notes, messages for us, we’ll be happy to read those. If you’d like to suggest a topic that you would want to hear about on this podcast, you can do that there as well. In the meantime, don’t forget to share, like and subscribe to this [00:10:00] podcast. And until next time, we hope you’ll join us on the next episode of Classroom to Courtroom podcast.
Until then, we hope you’ll join us. in making the world a better place, one client at a time. Thank you so much, take care now.
