IndyBar: A Collaborative Column: Has Practicing Law Really Changed?

By Scott A. Chinn, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, IndyBar Masters Division Chair and Monica McCoskey, Paganelli Law Group, IndyBar Young Lawyers Division Chair

This is a joint column co-written monthly by the Chairs of the Masters Division and Young Lawyers Division to compare, contrast, and relate practicing law 25+ years ago to practicing law today. Each column will examine a new general subject.

ALL ABOUT FEEDBACK

It goes without saying feedback is one of the most valuable tools for personal and professional growth. Giving and receiving feedback fosters a culture of continuous learning for attorneys at all experience levels. How can attorneys, both early in their career and those with much experience under their belt, effectively give and receive feedback to promote positive change and growth? The key: take the time to invest early on to build stronger attorneys later. What takes time in the short-term will expedite the process in the long-term.

We must foster a culture in which feedback is viewed as a benefit. In talking to early career attorneys, there is no dispute that feedback is appreciated, valued, and desired. But the first blood smeared draft (aka redlines) can be daunting. Attorneys with years of success clearly have a method to their madness and should take the opportunity to actually explain their changes and form an open line of communication. And remember, a little praise never hurt anyone. These important conversations build trust and promote strong relationships, rather than instilling fear and avoidance. The caveat for new lawyers—if experienced attorneys are taking the time to make their feedback intentional, early career attorneys must actually make efforts to absorb it and utilize it the next time around. It is easy to accept all track changes and move on to the next project, or to swallow questions about the changes made to the work—but this will not result in growth. Find value in the feedback.

Strong organizations also bring consistency to feedback and evaluations of junior lawyers. Historically and perhaps notoriously, law firms have suffered from inconsistent approaches to feedback – resulting in platitudes from some reviewers to overly harsh criticism from others often without a coherent and objective way to reconcile the substance. In more recent times, better practices include at least strongly recognizing and trying to inculcate the value of reasonable consistency among reviewers and adopting the “kind versus nice” distinction. “Kind” feedback is more constructive and genuine, focusing on helping someone grow and learn, while “nice” feedback can be superficial and avoid difficult conversations. Again, building trusting relationships helps pave the way for the effectiveness of “kind” feedback.

Finally, it is obvious that to properly implement feedback, you must be willing to receive it. A defensive attitude is a massive roadblock to implementing feedback. This applies to all of us—regardless of age, experience, or practice area. Leave what you think you know at the door. There is much to learn from early career attorneys who just spent years learning the rules of law and how to effectively research the questions being asked. Just like there is much to learn from people who have actually been practicing the skills law school cannot teach you. This exchange is what keeps our legal system afloat.•

Scott Chinn is a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP where he represents public and private clients in state, municipal, and public sector legal matters. He provides advisory, transactional, and general counsel representation for public finance, procurement, regulatory, infrastructure, environmental, and economic development matters. Prior to joining the firm, he served as counsel to Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and as Corporation Counsel to the City of Indianapolis. Chinn currently serves as the Chair of the Masters Division, is a member of the IndyBar Board of Directors, and is a past president. Chinn is also a Distinguished and Life Fellow of the IndyBar Foundation. He earned his B.A. from Indiana University and his J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

Monica McCoskey is an attorney with Paganelli Law Group where her practice concentrates on business and real estate litigation. Prior to joining Paganelli Law Group, McCoskey was an associate attorney with a law firm in Northern Indiana, where she practiced securities litigation and represented plaintiffs and defendants in various legal matters. She is the Chair of the Young Lawyers Division, a member of the IndyBar Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of the Social Subcommittee for the Litigation Section’s Executive Committee. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.