Osler's Razor

I had a supervising partner like that at my first firm. A head hunter once called and asked if I wanted to move my practice to that guy's most recent firm. I laughed in his face.
 

IPLG--

Now that I am old and experienced, I realize that the people who did the most re-writing were often the worst writers.
 

Big law firms are full of inflated egos like this...and yet they wonder why associate retention is so low. It's a bizarre business model firms like mine seem to have - promote the brightest yet socially inept and then wonder why they can't bring in any clients. I often lament the loss of associates who have actual people skills, who can look you in the eye in the hall and say 'good morning,' and who do not think they are God's gift to mankind.

Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day.
 

I like tradelawguy. Well done.
 

TLG- I completely agree. It's a generalization that certainly does not apply across the board, but the brightest don't always have the best social skills. I have been practicing for three+ years and have a great resume, but no big firm experience. I applied at a "model firm" the other day and was asked to send a copy of my transcript. I just chuckled and said nevermind. Their loss in my humble (not in a God's gift to mankind sort of way) opinion.
 

The requests for transcripts baffles me to this day. I have flirted with a couple headhunters and they ALWAYS ask for transcripts. I've been out of law school for 17 years... Does my grade in Evidence in 1989 really have any bearing on my performance?

And the people Running the biggest firms are not promoted because of management skills. No, its just a matter of how much business they bring in. Very odd.
 

Hey, on the subject of jobs (well, okay, maybe completely unrelated) - anyone have inside info on when July 2007 bar results will be released online? That'd be great so I can stop barfing in my office wastebasket and refreshing my screen this entire week.
 

Thursday afternoon, I'd wager.
 

I find it sad that we automatically assume that the people the law firms hire (i.e. those in the top 15%) are the "brightest". Maybe they just happen to be able take tests really well. There are plenty of people not at the very top of the class who I would hire ANY DAY over some of the people at the very top. Additionally, at Baylor, we don't have a true "top" because of the inflation from grade points for extra-curricular activities such as mock trial and law review.
 

Anon. 1:39 here...I should have put quotation marks around "brightest." I just didn't want to take anything away from those folks who were able to do very well in school. In addition to your comment Anon 3:57, Baylor Law grads that are not in the top 15% are put at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to firms looking at grades. This would have been a better comment on the How Do We Improve BLS posting and it sounds like some changes have been made since I graduated, but it's hard to explain that a 2.5 actually puts you in the top half if you can't get in the door.

I admit I have a gigantic chip on my shoulder about this, but, bottom line is, I don't think grades should matter at all after someone has proven themselves in the workplace and especially if that person comes equipped with the training we received from BLS.
 

This is very different from a story I heard about working for the state government:

1st Quarter Eval (of a new attorney who has worked at the minimum pace to avoid raising questions): You're doing good work, but you're completing too many points. You should slow down a bit and stop rushing.
 

I'm so glad I decided to blaze my own trail in opera, rather than follow into the family biz, i.e. the law.

To be fair, however... there are LOTS of inflated egos in opera, too!!!