My partner Jason Mendelson (an ex-lawyer) has a dynamite post up titled Quick Ways To Get Fired as a Lawyer. While some of my best friends are lawyers (or ex-lawyers), I’ve encountered most of the stupid lawyer tricks that Jason enumerates in his post.
The big ones (immediate termination) are:
- Screw around with redlines.
- Endorse the chief competitor.
- You provide little leadership and wait for someone else to come up with the answer.
- You provide advice to the CEO adverse to the company’s interest.
The medium ones (you’ll lose us over time) are:
- Be lax in your advice and get it wrong.
- Being inefficient, getting lost in the woods, billing for small stuff that doesn’t matter.
- Bait and switch. You bring in the client, but you never show for board meetings, phone calls, etc. and send junior folks in your stead.
- Not knowing who your client is.
- Letting summer associates run wild on the account.
But my favorite is “Being annoying.” Jason enumerates these in more detail – if you are an entrepreneur or a lawyer the post is worth a close read. If you are a comedian, it’s probably worth it also as you’ll get more ammunition for your standup routine.