KNOW, the Magazine for Paralegals Spring 2014 | Page 15

e,

on
atway
ering

t
sk
ng
ck

r
y

“Every time
some arrogant
kid tells me to
do something,
I have a choice.
I can take time
to train her to
say “please” and
“thank you” or I
can go the
extra mile for
the managing
partner.
Guess who
wins.”

were so out of date that it seriously gummed up the
works. It was easier to just do it myself. As a paralegal, I
didn’t have the authority to criticize much less fire her.
We had 25 tough-as-nails attorneys in the firm and nobody had the stomach to let her go.”
Unless your firm is blessed with a cold-blooded
hatchet man who spends his spare time looking for
people to throw overboard, chances are that it has
more than its share of dead weight. Millie’s quote addresses a prevalent pattern that emerged during our
research: conflict avoidance among attorneys. Lawyers
can be great at negotiating complex deals and destroying opponents in court but, ironically, they avoid
firing non-performing staff persons within their own
firms out of a fear of being perceived as mean.
While it may be tempting to analyze the psychological
reasons for this phenomenon, let’s address the more
important management pain. Most law firms have ineffective performance management systems. Often
times they are trapped in lumbering end-of-the-year
evaluation inefficiency that over-focuses on reaching
mandatory billable hours or over-relies on managers’
abilities to effectively evaluate employees.
When firms have, and use, effective performance
management systems, firing non-performers, people
with poor attitudes, and toxic individuals is simply a
matter of process.
The Strategy:
These two strategies will help firms and individuals
retain star performers and fire non-performers:
* Develop well thought-out competencies for each
position within the firm and tie it into the strategic
plan/vision. Avoid simply listing things such as “Teamcentered” or “Effec ѥٔ