Shannon Quadros of Kilmer Crosby & Quadros joins us on today's show. He talks business development, diversity in law firms, adding value to clients, and the Exorcism of Emily Rose!




COVID-19 update

Past hurricanes in Houston had already pushed them to have the capacity to go completely remote/cloud
How they deliver services has certainly changed
Clients have to adjust to not seeing them in person
Signatures by docusign
Attending hearings on Zoom
But turn the client's video off!
Houston legal community has been impressive and have adapted well
legal system is essential and has to keep functioning to preserve the democracy
Opposing counsel who is typically hard-line and tough are showing more flexibility
Would prefer to move minor hearings to Zoom/phone to avoid the cattle call docket and the hours it takes for ultimately a 10 minute hearing
will be more efficient and save the client money
Better for the PR of the profession

His practice/firm

Construction/real estate attorney
80% litigation
20% transactions
Two partners who do commercial bankruptcy with small and mid-size companies
Other partner is corporate/business attorney
Bankruptcy
Throughout 2019 there was an expectation that brick/mortar retail would be a bankruptcy , and then COVID accelerated it
Oil/gas was already seeing issues from a lack of demand
End of summer is where it will likely show up
What value are we delivering? Key question that COVID has highlighted.
Are we adding value to clients? Can tech/AI deliver for less cost to the client?

Advice to lawyers

Start business development early/often
Your classmates will be the biggest source of referrals, so stay in touch with them!
Your colleagues or even opposing counsel will eventually be in-house and potential clients
Develop an expertise and deliver a CLE (use your local bar or Inn of Court)
Have a long-term mentality; putting in effort now toward business development will pay off eight and ten years from now
Take the lead on a bar sub-committee
The day after you get a job you should start networking like you need a job; you won't be in the same job for life
Everyone should be able to say what you do; it's how you develop your reputation/brand
Be specific. It may feel limiting, but in fact you will get more referrals by making sure people know you are the "X" lawyer
Most referrals will come from other lawyers
Judge Keith Ellison: in response to those who say they want to do "complex commercial litigation" he says "who will do the simple commercial litigation?"

When hiring associates

Likes to see people who didn't go K-Law School and has a bit of life/work experience outside of school; some business experience is helpful
Likes people who have worked with a judge
Needs hustle and someone who can take a case and run with it relatively quickly
If they do what I want them to do, they won't need me after a few years because they will be able to manage a practice on their own

Diversity and Race in the legal profession

Diversity is not getting better in the legal profession in Texas
Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country, and if the profession doesn't reflect the community, how can we deliver the best services to clients? So it is an economic necessity as well
People live different experience, and if those aren't at the table we can't ethically serve our clients
People of color and women are not represented in equity ownership
law firms aren't fostering their success and longevity
Study
Criticism of writing for people with names that sound like a person of color was harsher than those with an Anglo-sounding name
People of color get treated differently for bad reasons; the law is supposed to be blind
perhaps now there is more of an acknowledgment of a problem which is an important first step

Rapid Fire Questions

Name one trait/characteristic you most want to see in an associate: timeliness
Key Habit: networking
Favorite app/productivity tool: Evernote
Favorite social distancing: evening walks
Favorite legal movie: Legally Blonde? Nah...The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Thanks again to Shannon Quadros for coming on the show!