Why partnership is the main asset of your law firm

Learn how the partnership can help in developing teams of lawyers.

The partnership is taking a massive part of our lives, and it isn’t limited only to work. People cannot live without other people, and the connections we build between one another can lead us to success or impact our failure. So choosing people we make our lives around — whether personally or professionally — is a vital task.

With my partner Myroslav Khmarskyi, I chose wisely and built a company I am proud of — AVITAR. Now, I will explain how every law firm can benefit from a successful partnership. In the middle of May, I participated with Myroslav in the webinar “Partnership is the company’s main asset” and will share the main points of our discussion with you.

What is a partnership, and why it is important

In general, a business partnership is a form of entrepreneurship based on combining the property of different owners. It is so much more than that. Your partner is your support in the challenging times, your insurance and honest feedback. Moreover, your business has not one but two intelligent heads to take care of the matters, which is only great.

I could especially feel the importance of this shoulder to rely on when the war started. It changed so many things in our lives, but it also changed how we think. If anything happened to me, I could always count on my partner’s help to care for the business and my family. This level of trust is hard to achieve.

Why partnership can be called off

For a partnership to work out, you must understand that it is built on trust and respect towards every part of the group. There are several reasons why partners can decide to call off their professional engagement:

1. The unclear vision of the company’s development.
2. Partners didn’t know what results from the work they wanted to achieve.
3. Blaming the others.
4. There weren’t any fixed agreements between the partners.
5. Partners didn’t divide the responsibilities properly.

All these reasons could be avoided at the beginning if you correctly understand the goal before all partners and communicate the details.

The main ingredients of the successful partnership

The partnership is a delicate thing resulting from thorough and attentive preparation. During the years of our combined work, we know the most important ingredients of a successful partnership recipe.

The common ground of interest

It is a fundamental thing without which you wouldn’t have a point of connection with your business partner.

Trust

Giving your trust to people and considering taking it back is a dynamic process of building a solid relationship. Only by the thousand obstacles and conflicts you managed to solve together can you say “I trust you” to your business partner.

Honesty

Taking responsibility is one of the most important things that can make you achieve your goals. You should mind that if you say or do something, you should be honest about what it can bring.

Vulnerability

It is essential to understand that your business partner is a person that will see your drawbacks and weak points, so you need to be ready to be vulnerable in front of them. It also includes receiving feedback and readiness to admit that you are not always right.

Interchangeability

This is simple: if the situation calls for it, you should always be able to take your partner’s place in the everyday tasks and communication. This is why it is essential to synchronize and know what each of you is participating in.

Readiness to take responsibility

There is no need to say that any business brings a vast responsibility. However, in the case of a partnership, every person has to understand that they share the commitment equally.

Ability to reflect

Looking back at our lives, we will see how 80% of our decisions are done automatically. If we took just a little time to reflect, maybe we could avoid some mistakes or bring the right choices closer. The same thing is with business — we almost always make managerial decisions automatically without giving much thought to reflect. The ability to reflect is the skill to stop, look back at your choices, and conclude what was done right and wrong.

Fixed agreements in the beginning

It is only suitable to fix your agreements on paper to be sure that you can reread everything you talked about. However, the documents you write in the beginning can lose their currency in the future, which is entirely normal. So just be sure to update them.

The constant need for self-improvement

When two or more people work as one mechanism to manage the business and achieve results, their moods automatically depend on one another. Therefore, if one person loses motivation to improve and develop, it can influence others. Consequently, you must keep your desire to develop and, of course, you can always ask your partners for help if you lose one.

To be successful as a partner — know your goals as an individual

Everything starts with honesty and determination of the results you want to achieve for yourself as an individual. First, find out what is it you really want to do and then honestly ask your partner about their goals. If your desires don’t align, you can imagine that this partnership will bring nothing good.

Determine your goals and set a path needed to get to them. If your partner sets the same direction for themselves, you can walk on it together or compromise how both of you accomplish your individual goals in the long run. Of course, your goals and desired results can change over time, which is just as normal as anything. If they are changed, you should be honest with your partner and come clean about your thoughts and ideas.

To keep track of your professional desires and goals, try to ask yourself these questions periodically:

• Why am I doing what I am doing?
• What do I like and don’t like about my job?
• If I know what I don’t like, am I ready to change it in the existing relationship?
• What do I want to create?
• Where am I in this project?
• What is necessary for me to do to achieve this goal now?
• Am I ready to move forward with my partner?

Try to put as much details in your actions as you can, and this way, you will have the most transparent picture.

How partnership helps in developing law firms

Like soccer players, politicians or construction workers, when lawyers gather up in the small companies that set the goal to work on the same plan — they are a team. A team is any group of people that answers to all these criteria:

• Group can self-reflect.
• Everyone knows their common goal.
• Each group member can realize their interests while working on the common goal.
• Interchangeability inside the group.
• Clearly defined roles and functions.

When working with a group, you should always stay in sync with each other for the partnership to work out. However, staying in sync can be very easy if you find the ways of communication comfortable for everyone.

How to help your partners find their interests

1.Simply talk to each other?

It is just as simple. Stay in touch, call your partners, and ask about their doings. The best and strongest relationships are built by constant connection and deep communication. A good conversation can never go wrong.

2. Do you have a dream?

Our dreams can tell a lot about our personalities. If you want to know a person more deeply, ask them what their dreams are. This question may be too personal for some people, but it can open so much inner knowledge. Dreams also change. For instance, my dream is to see my country, Ukraine, wholly independent and with a strong sense of self-identification. When we achieve that, my dream will change too.

3.If there is no need to earn money, what would you do?

It is surprising how many things we do simply to earn money. Sometimes we lose track of what we want to do and get stuck doing what we think we must do. If you can imagine a situation when you don’t have to earn money, what will you choose to do?

4.Be attentive towards your close ones.

The conversation can give you insight on many things. However, sometimes you might find it unnecessary if you only pay attention to the people around you. Their reactions, comments, and facial impressions could tell a lot if you only know when to look.

Collective interests are the core of emerging businesses. Companies understand that people are the main asset of their success. To achieve it, the managers have to find staff that will look in the same direction as they do and develop these people inside the company. When partners run the company, it is only fair that they have to bind their interests together to achieve the best results.

Some ways we use to develop our team

Management is an art somehow, so you have to use creative approaches to your team. If you do, you can find that developing your people is laying down the path to success. However, we believe that no processes have to be put on the team strictly and too demanding. We choose to give people space and encourage them rather than make them do things.

1. Unusual approaches and management practices. In our case, it gives people the freedom to communicate with them and get to know them better — becoming familiar with each other.
2. Spend time together, apart from work. You can get to know people you are working with when they show what they like to do in their free time. We choose a convenient time for everybody and gather up to do something together.
3. Meditation. Nowadays, keeping attention unwavering and focused is hard without help. One of the things that help us to stay focused on our job is meditation. In AVITAR, we have corporate meditations. Apart from that, Myroslav and I often share the little meditation tips we use when we don’t have time for an entire session. For instance, start paying attention to the contact your feet make with the ground when walking. This way, you will train your focus.
4. Encourage people to talk about their mood and their personal lives. Simple “How are you?” can show your concern and attention to people, and it will help you stay tuned to the lives of your team.

A partnership can genuinely become an asset for your company’s success if you know how to start it wisely. WIth Myroslav, we managed to help file more than 50 successful partnership deals. Of course, every document is different as each pair of partners has various agreements, but drafting them on paper is essential. If you want to make the partnership a part of the path to help you develop your team of lawyers, we will be happy to help.