Six practical ways firm leaders can build a healthier workplace
Law firms tend to devote enormous attention to client service, deadlines, professional standards, and financial performance. Workplace culture can receive less deliberate attention, even though it affects nearly every part of the practice.
Culture influences whether employees speak up when something is wrong, whether disagreements remain professional, whether supervisors handle problems consistently, and whether talented people want to stay. It can also affect risk. A workplace where concerns are ignored, incivility is tolerated, or expectations depend on who is involved is more likely to experience disputes that escalate.
The good news is that a healthy workplace culture does not require elaborate programs. It does require consistent attention from firm leadership.
1. Set the Tone at the Top
Employees notice what firm leaders tolerate.
Partners and supervisors establish workplace expectations through their own behavior: how they speak to colleagues, how they respond under pressure, and how they handle mistakes and disagreements. Written policies matter, but day-to-day conduct usually sends the stronger message.
Professionalism should apply internally just as much as it does in dealings with clients, courts, and opposing counsel.
2. Address Incivility Early
Not every workplace problem begins as harassment, discrimination, or another legal violation. Sometimes it begins with conduct that is simply disrespectful, disruptive, or corrosive.
Repeated interruptions, demeaning comments, public criticism, bullying behavior, or angry outbursts can gradually change the character of a workplace if they are allowed to continue.
Firm leaders do not need to treat every disagreement as a disciplinary matter. But persistent incivility should not be dismissed simply because it has not yet crossed a legal line. Early intervention is usually easier and more effective than waiting until a pattern develops.
3. Make It Safe to Raise Concerns
Employees should know where to go when they have a workplace concern—and they should have confidence that raising an issue will not make matters worse.
That means more than putting a reporting procedure in an employee handbook. Supervisors need to listen carefully, avoid dismissing concerns prematurely, and understand when an issue should be elevated.
Employees should also have an alternative reporting option when the concern involves their immediate supervisor or someone with significant authority in the firm.
A culture in which employees feel comfortable raising problems early gives management an opportunity to address issues before they become more serious.
4. Do Not Give High Performers a Different Set of Rules
One of the most difficult cultural problems for any organization arises when an employee or partner generates significant revenue, controls important client relationships, or is otherwise viewed as indispensable.
That value can make leaders reluctant to confront problematic conduct.
But allowing a highly productive lawyer to operate under a different standard sends a powerful message to everyone else in the organization. It can undermine policies, discourage reporting, and create resentment among employees who believe performance matters more than professional behavior.
High performance should earn recognition. It should not create immunity from reasonable workplace expectations.
5. Train People to Be Supervisors
Being a good lawyer does not automatically make someone a good manager.
Lawyers may become supervisors because of seniority, partnership status, or professional success without ever receiving meaningful instruction about managing employees.
Supervisors should understand basic expectations concerning feedback, documentation, workplace complaints, accommodations, leave issues, confidentiality, and retaliation. They should also know when a situation is beyond their experience and needs to be referred to someone else.
A small amount of practical management training can prevent many avoidable problems.
6. Pay Attention to What Actually Happens
There can be a significant difference between a firm’s written culture and its actual culture.
A handbook may describe open communication while employees are reluctant to approach leadership. A policy may prohibit inappropriate conduct while everyone knows that certain individuals are rarely challenged. Annual evaluations may be required but inconsistently completed.
Firm leaders should periodically ask whether their practices match their stated expectations.
That may require listening to employees, reviewing how complaints and performance issues have actually been handled, and identifying recurring sources of tension within the workplace.
The goal is not to eliminate disagreement. Law firms are demanding professional environments, and difficult conversations are sometimes necessary. The goal is to create a workplace where expectations are clear, concerns can be raised, decisions are made fairly, and people are treated professionally.
Culture Is a Risk Management Issue
A healthy workplace culture is valuable for reasons that extend well beyond avoiding employment claims. It helps firms recruit and retain good people, improves communication, supports better management, and contributes to a more effective practice.
It also provides an important layer of risk prevention.
Many workplace disputes become more serious because warning signs were overlooked, concerns were not taken seriously, or problematic behavior became normalized over time. Firms that address those issues early are better positioned to keep ordinary workplace problems from becoming something much larger.
Culture does not develop from a policy manual alone. It develops through repeated decisions about what firm leaders encourage, what they correct, and what they are willing to tolerate.
Todd C. Scott is VP of Risk Management at Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company. To learn more about avoiding tax related claims or any other legal ethics, malpractice avoidance, or practice management issue, he can be reached at: riskmanagement@mlmins.com