Episode 11: Become a Champion Manager and a More Profitable Lawyer with Marcia Watson Wasserman and Andrew Elowitt

Law Firm Marketing Catalyst

Marcia Watson Wasserman, Founder and President of Comprehensive Management Solutions, Inc., is a seasoned legal management professional with more than 25 years of experience. She provides “C.O.O. To Go”™ services to boutique and mid-sized law firms. Her expertise includes operational management reviews; management development and training; succession planning; strategic planning; retreat facilitation; and financial management. Prior to consulting, she served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of several local and national law firms, including an AmLaw 200 firm.

Marcia leads monthly Managing Partners’ Roundtables for more than 50 law firms focused on elevating the legal management discussion and sharing best practices. She serves as an Associate Editor for the American Bar Association’s Law Practice magazine and is a member of the Law Practice Division’s Publishing Board. She frequently presents on law practice management topics at local, regional and national conferences, and her writings can be found in leading legal publications. She is the co-author of “Lawyers as Managers: How to Be a Champion For Your Firm and Employees” (ABA 2017). Marcia’s efforts have garnered the recognition of her peers, as she is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management.

Andrew Elowitt specializes in leadership and talent development for lawyers and legal executives. His firm, New Actions LLC, focuses on the people side of legal practice: how lawyers lead, manage, thrive, change and find resilience and balance. Andrew works with lawyers and managers in private practice, corporate legal departments and government agencies.

Andrew is regarded as an expert in soft skills and the uses of emotional, social and conversational intelligences in leading, managing and growing legal organizations of all sizes. In addition to coaching individual lawyers on topics as diverse as business development, practice management, productivity and stress management, he frequently consults with firms on business, strategic and succession planning matters.

He is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management and is regularly invited to conduct workshops for his clients, and present programs to industry leaders and professional associations. He is the author of many books and articles, including “Lawyers as Managers: How to Be a Champion for Your Firm and Employees” (ABA 2017), “The Lawyer’s Guide to Professional Coaching: Leadership, Mentoring & Effectiveness” (ABA 2012), and “Is Managing Lawyers Like Herding Cats?” (Law Practice May/June 2018). He currently serves as Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Publications Board.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• The difference between being a good lawyer and being a good manager.
• Why lawyers’ unique personality traits can inhibit their management skills, and how to move past this to become a good manager.
• Best practices for delegating tasks to other lawyers and staff to boost productivity.
• How lawyers can overcome their reticence for business development activities.
• How to be a champion for both your employees and your law firm as a manager/lawyer.

Marcia and Andrew’s book:

• “Lawyers as Managers: How to Be a Champion for Your Firm and Employees” ABA, Amazon

Ways to contact Marcia:

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marciawwasserman
• Company Twitter: @mwwCompMgmt
• Company website: www.comprehensivemgmt.com

Ways to contact Andrew:

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/andrewelowitt
• Website: newactions.com
• Book: “The Lawyer’s Guide to Professional Coaching” ABA, Amazon