Firing My Partner: When a Business Decision is Too Personal

My name is Tracy Callahan, and welcome to my exciting journey into legal resources and career transition outplacement services. I chose to create a blog about attorney and legal outplacement because I have been supporting the legal industry for more than 20 years, and I’d like to share my experience.

Clients hire attorneys because they have a conflict that they’re unable to resolve themselves. Interestingly, most attorneys hate conflict when it’s not on behalf of their clients. This aversion is particularly evident when a law firm needs to part ways with a senior attorney (let’s call him “Bob”). While it’s optimal for the “this isn’t working out” conversation to be initiated by Bob, often, it’s the firm that must start the termination ball rolling.

Attorneys who entered the legal profession about 30 years ago viewed being a law firm partner as a job for life. Partners ran the firm together and when they weren’t in the office, they and their families would socialize together. When a partner had a problem, colleagues would circle the wagons. To abandon a troubled colleague was unheard of because “my partner is always my partner.”

In a modern law firm, everyone understands that not all partners are created equal, and data and collections rule.

Occasionally, a firm is faced with a partner firing situation that is a no-brainer: Wilkie Farr didn’t hesitate to fire its former co-chairman when he pleaded/pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with the college admissions scandal.

However, most partner firing situations are deemed “sensitive.”

The days when partners supported one another like family are long gone, but many attorneys and firms still believe in that ethos, making it tough to fire Bob, a colleague and friend. You know all there is to know about Bob – his approach to his practice, how his clients and family adore him, his strengths, his weaknesses, his hopes, his dreams – probably better than he knows himself.

It’s safe to say that even if you and Bob aren’t THAT close, your relationship covers a lot of emotional territory. You wish he’d embezzled so firing him would be easy.

But he hasn’t.

You keep hoping his numbers rebound, and he stops resisting change so you can avoid the whole “this isn’t working and it hasn’t for a while so you need to go” conversation.

But still no change.

Leaders with compassion avoid terminations because they don’t want to be “the bad guy” who shows Bob the door.

• What will happen because you fired Bob?
• Will he go off the rails?
• Will he have a difficult time finding other work and end up losing his home?
• Will he hate you?
• Will he sabotage your firm?

The situation is fraught. It’s not good for Bob or the firm for him to stay. But you can’t bring yourself to fire your friend. So you move “Need to fire Bob” to next month’s executive committee discussion agenda and review carpet samples instead.

However, it’s a buyer’s market. Clients have endless options and are pushing to get maximum value for legal fees. Law firms can’t drive profits by relying on substantial annual rate increases. Firms that allow attorneys to leave billable hours on the table, service clients who don’t pay their bills promptly, and generally resent innovation foster a culture where mediocrity thrives.

The business of law is must be a constant priority because every day you delay in taking action (translation:firing Bob) is a day that you incur unnecessary expense (the cost of Bob) and a day that your competitors can get an edge.

Your employees and colleagues note that when it comes to Bob, you turn a blind eye. The longer that continues, the more firm morale will decline, you’ll lose those high performers who won’t settle, and problems will eventually trickle down to your clients and put your firm in jeopardy. Fortunately, this is a slippery slope your firm doesn’t have to endure.

Logically you know it’s best for the firm and Bob to part ways. However, you’re still a compassionate human who doesn’t want to hurt Bob and his family. And you don’t want the termination to sour Bob’s view of the firm so he feels there’s been an injustice and thus “the firm must pay.” No wonder there can be a significant delay in implementing the firm’s termination decision.

By the time Bob is slated for termination, you have fulfilled your responsibility by exhausting the other options: offering new training so he can practice in a different area; creating joint accountability via a document that outlines the firm’s expectations; peer or management counseling; transferring to Of Counsel or non-equity partner status; reduced draw; and more.

So by this point, Bob knows he isn’t measuring up. With every passing day, it gets tougher to keep up the pretense that things are fine. His family knows things have changed. So to let Bob know that you genuinely care about him, you won’t delay in cutting him lose AND doing all you can to support his success elsewhere.

Do what you must to protect your firm. And do all that you can to salvage your relationship with Bob as he transitions from colleague to former colleague. And help him be positioned for success elsewhere. Fortunately, when your objective is career transition rather than termination, everybody wins.

Bob has been underperforming, and suggested improvement strategies haven’t worked. He won’t be walked out. And you’ll offer to include personalized one-on-one career transition support in his severance package. So, while Bob is being involuntarily terminated, he won’t feel he’s been:

• Blind-sided
• Humiliated
• Subject to injustice

You’re setting Bob free to apply his time, expertise, and energy where he’s a better fit. You’re also protecting your firm’s brand and reputation. Seems like a textbook example of win-win.