Day 14: Lawyering and the Entrepreneurship Mindset
As I was planning activities for our Immigration Law Clinic orientation next month, I was struck by how closely the process of lawyering, if undertaken self-consciously, maps onto the method and mindset of entrepreneurship.
In their book Lawyers, Clients, and Narrative, Carolyn Grose and Margaret E. Johnson describe the lawyer’s job from 10,000 feet as one not just of telling a story, but of creating a narrative. The story is a chronological statement of facts; the narrative is the way the story is told. In the law, the story itself is not precisely accessible to us: We were not present for all events; the client may not remember everything or know what lies ahead; the legal process doesn’t allow time to tell every detail. Instead, we must construct a narrative: We choose where to begin our account; who to feature as characters and who to leave out; what events to present and in what order. Our narrative must be ethical - one reasonable telling of the events - but it will never be the only reasonable telling of the events. And our narrative should seek to be not just true but just.
To develop this narrative requires the lawyer to use elements of the entrepreneurship method, whether consciously or unconsciously. The entrepreneurship method is about learning:
· How to see opportunities where others see problems
· How to create and develop those opportunities into solutions
· How to test, refine, and adapt your ideas
· How to build teams to grow your ideas
· How and where to find the people who are looking to support your ideas
· How to learn from failure and to pivot effectively
· How to sustain your solution
When we work with a client to craft a narrative of their case , we use each of the steps above.
First, we look for opportunities when we interview the client, listening carefully for clues from their narrative that might be successfully crafted into an alternate (but still true) narrative that achieves the desired legal outcome.
Second, we research the law and develop the facts into something that looks like a solution - available legal relief.
Third, we document and brief the case, testing and refining the narrative along the way.
Fourth, we develop a deeper relationship with the client, or with witnesses or experts, who can help to flesh out or normalize the narrative we are crafting.
Fifth, we choose the audience and forum most likely to be receptive to our narrative: Should we negotiate? Contact the regulators? File suit?
Sixth, we try, evaluate, and pivot. Friendly conversation didn’t work? Try a cease and desist. No luck there? File a complaint.
Seventh, when we are nearing a potential resolution, we refine to ensure a viable solution for the client. A high-risk trial settles or the defendant pleads. A hostile takeover bid triggers a stock repurchase.
So in many respects, lawyers are already entrepreneurs (which isn’t about whether or not you own a business). In the coming years, as AI changes and perhaps subsumes much of the work of lawyer-as-information-processor, learning to riff on these essential - and difficult-to-automate - skills may be the key to surviving and thriving in the legal profession.