Goal-oriented growth
To help employees develop new skills and advance their careers, the firm introduced The Go Out And Learn/Lead (GOAL) Program. Open to all employees, the program encourages attorneys and staff to pursue new opportunities in their careers with coaching, support, and even training reimbursement from the firm.
Several years ago, for example, litigator Richard Schoenstein set an ambitious goal of becoming an on-air legal analyst. The firm supported his goal by launching a podcast hosted by Rich, providing media training, and assisting with making contacts and booking. Today, Rich is a sought-after commentator who appears regularly on networks such as the Law & Crime Network, Court TV, and NewsNation, on social media under the handle @LegalRiches, and on other podcasts and media outlets. Several attorneys have pursued public speaking courses or improv comedy classes to hone their presentation skills. Other staff members have set goals of learning a foreign language to support the firm’s international clients through Italian, French, Canadian, and Turkish practices.
“If we’re all growing professionally and individually, then we can do our jobs better and we become more valuable to our clients,” Tarter says.
Meeting employees where they are
Inevitably, employees’ individual goals end up benefiting the entire firm. For example, human resources director, Lisette Clark, pursued a certification in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from Cornell University through the GOAL program. Since then, she has helped facilitate a collaboration between the firm’s DEI committee and the leadership team to foster an environment of psychological safety and develop firm-wide programming to further the firm’s DEI endeavors. For example, the committee helped implement a competency-based model of promotion criteria within the firm.
“Competency-based modeling helps eliminate the opportunity for bias,” Clark says. “And, by sharing those criteria, people understand what markers they need to meet to achieve their career goals within the origination, reducing turnover and encouraging people to stay longer.”
Through regular check-ins with employees at all levels of the firm, leaders urge teammates to think bigger than their current role by mapping a clear career path forward. “The hope is that we are communicating to our people that we are invested in them and trying to understand what they want and what matters to them and help them build towards that,’” Clark says. “We’re creating a space where people are supported to grow perpetually.”
To help employees grow and learn from other perspectives, the firm also runs a mentorship program that pairs new associates with attorneys outside of their practice. “Because we have such an intergenerational workforce, we try to foster a conduit between the mentee and mentor to shed light and perspective for each other,” Clark says. “They meet regularly for one-on-ones, whether it’s over coffee or lunch, so they get a cross-pollination exposure.”
With a team of nearly 180 employees, the firm endeavors to connect our people through themed lunches, interactive activities, and other celebrations. The firm even sends out an internal email every month to highlight teammate’s birthdays and anniversaries—encouraging people to connect with one another by acknowledging their colleagues’ special days.
“Despite our growing size, the leadership of the firm puts so much thought into trying to meet people where they are,” Clark says. “That’s how we keep that close, personalized feel.”
Reprinted with permission from the October 23, 2023 online edition of Crain's New York Business. All rights reserved.
