Partnership – how to navigate that crucial assessment process

For many lawyers making partner is one of the crowning achievements of their career and fulfils a lofty ambition held since their first day on the job.

The journey travelled between those two points can be a long one. Being selected as a partner is a natural reward for commitment, loyalty, hard work and success. However, many lawyers are left disappointed, if not mystified or angry, about their failure to make the step up. This is because the partner selection process is just that; a process, which involves you selling yourself as ‘partner material’.

For many lawyers, self-promotion is a skill that does not come naturally and many great partnership candidates end up selling themselves short.

Analyse your strengths and your successes and use what you have achieved in your career so far to provide examples and meaning to what you have to say. Don’t just focus on the past; being made a partner is a big step and it is crucial to concentrate on the future and what you can bring to the firm.

Be aware of the competition
Last year, promotions at the top 30 UK firms fell by 30%. The net result of more candidates and fewer spaces is that it is more important than ever to distinguish yourself from the competition.

Quite simply, if you represent yourself as a run-of-the-mill lawyer with a proficient track record, don’t expect to cut the mustard.

It’s nothing personal
One thing that is sometimes forgotten by would-be partners is that any law firm is first and foremost a business. Becoming a partner automatically makes you a key component of the business process. Therefore, a healthy understanding of the business of law, as well as issues such as financial trends and changes within the industry, is very important.

Know your stuff
These kinds of business issues will become part of your day-to-day work routine and a lack of appreciation or knowledge of them will almost certainly derail your bid for promotion.

Moreover, it is crucial to know your firm inside out, from its history and the name of its founders down to the name of the receptionist. To be a partner, you have to be totally plugged in to your corporate environment.

A little bit of personality
As a figurehead of the firm, it is important to be a friendly, approachable person, with plenty of energy and a good relationship with everyone from colleagues to clients.

Alongside being a team player, commitment, hard work and loyalty are prerequisites. But think too about whether you possess skills such as flexibility, dynamism, innovation and conviction that can help you go beyond the obvious criteria.

The golden rule is to let your talents and individuality shine through. Under no circumstances should you pretend to be someone you are not. Remember, the panel of selectors are your co-workers, so hyperbole, or worse, mendacity, will do nothing but sabotage your chances.

The presentation
A crucial part of the selection process for partner is the presentation. You will most probably be invited to give a presentation to a panel of assessors, which will then be followed by questions. Although the format differs from firm to firm, the general premise is the same. This is the time you are given the floor (and an opportunity) to present your case. A bad presentation will almost certainly wreck your chances, so it is paramount that this goes without a hitch.

A little thing called confidence
One key element of a successful presentation is that you appear confident in yourself and your abilities. If you cannot speak with conviction about yourself, it is inevitable that your peers will remain unconvinced about your partnership credentials. Confidence in front of the panel suggests that you are confident in front of clients.

Naturally, many people get nervous, especially given the importance of the occasion. The best way to deal with nerves is to make sure you have a really good story to tell and that you are thoroughly prepared. Being well prepared does not mean learning your script. If you do learn it, you will not sound natural and if you forget your lines, you will be in real trouble.

If you are worried that you talk too fast, practise and regulate your speed. If you are panicking about forgetting what you want to say, do use notes or prompt-cards (nine times out of 10, just having them in your hand will provide you with the confidence not to need them at all). However, confidence is always a double-edged sword; avoid any hints of arrogance, cockiness or complacency.

Do aids really aid?
While notes are absolutely fine, most other aids should be avoided. Remember, the presentation is about you and what you can bring. PowerPoint is an omnipresent business tool these days. However, in this environment, it is of little use – all it will do is distract the audience from what you are saying. Most speakers use PowerPoint slides as their own visual prompt rather than to add anything particular to their presentation. If that’s the case, revert to paper cards.

Structure
By the time you are put forward for the partnership race, you will have proved that you deserve to be there and will have plenty of experience on which to draw. Consider how you are going to make your case strongly in a 12-15 minute presentation which is going to leave the panel convinced that you should be selected this year.

When you come to structure your presentation, ask yourself this question: ‘If I were on that panel, what would make me select this person for partnership?’ What qualities are they looking for in their partners? Consider these: your ability to innovate; your ability to lead teams, clients and projects; your ability to bring in business; and any wider contribution to the life and reputation of the firm.

If you think these are areas which will impress the panel, show how you satisfy the criteria by drawing on your own examples. Remember, you have little time; and certainly not enough to canter over your life experience. Instead, concentrate on the most relevant and impressive examples that will show the panel what you are capable of.

And (extremely important) you must use the word ‘I’. This is a sales pitch for you and nobody else. It is pointless being coy and not saying what you have done. On the other hand, be careful not to brag. Imagine rather that you are telling a group of friends about something successful you have done and of which you are proud.

Body language
It seems obvious, but bad body language can quickly alienate a room of assessors before you have even opened your mouth. Good presentation (clean shoes and so on) goes without saying, but make sure you smile (not too much) and have an enthusiastic and fresh attitude and stance. If at all possible, try and enjoy your presentation – enthusiasm is infectious. Although you want to be memorable, don’t do anything ill-judged or unprofessional. Instead, let your well-thought-out self-representation, business knowledge and natural personality shine through.

Preparation
Regardless of whether you are naturally confident, a little bit of preparation really is everything. Of course, having the ability to think on your feet and adapt to changing situations quickly is important, but attempting to duck and dive your way past the selection panel will prove fruitless. Patient and planned preparation (that means not only on the night before) is the best course. Take half an hour here and there in the preceding weeks to think about yourself, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and begin to think about how you might answer questions and what relevant working examples you have to hand.

Remember though that this is not an exam. Preparation is one thing and revising is another. Memorising answers or delivering a turgid and inflexible presentation will be boring and deprive you of personality and energy. While you will probably benefit from committing your opening and closing sentences to memory, for the remainder just know what you are going to say, and don’t learn it by heart. Keep what you say free-flowing rather than reading verbatim off a sheet of paper.

It is also important to develop a good pace, rhythm and tone to maximise your effectiveness. To do this, you must practise your presentation out loud – just as actors do. Also, try to do so at least once with someone else listening.

Conclusion
All this may seem like a lot of information, but the truth is, with something as important as partnership selection, it’s not so much about ‘ticking the boxes’ as avoiding the pitfalls of a lack of preparation or business knowledge. It’s not about being an excellent lawyer or formidable public speaker, but about being the ‘all-round package’.

Everyone has their own set of weaknesses and strengths; there is no identikit lawyer you must replicate. So maximise your chances through preparation and due care – and on the day, just be yourself.

Jack Downton is managing director of executive skills consultancy The Influence Business