The other day I saw an article exploring the bad reputation certain consultants supposedly have. Well, whatever that bad reputation may be, make it worse by a considerable factor…and you have the general perception of business lawyers by the other players we regularly engage with. Of course that’s a simplifying blanket statement. Of course this does not say anything about any individual.
But whether we like it or not, it still is out there, we will still have this in the back of our minds, and we will still need to deal with it. If you’re in any doubt, try searching for „lawyer jokes“.
We can either complain and wait until things get fairer. Or better. That might be a very long wait, though. The alternative is for us to be professional and practical about it.
To start from where things are. Just like we’ve been trained to do: start with the facts.
Someone has an incomplete picture in their head of what business lawyers do and why? Well, let’s help with a fuller image. Someone doesn’t seem to see the relevance of something we know is important and behaves accordingly? Let’s explain in their language and in their terms, why it matters to them. Someone signals that we are missing something? Why not demonstrate that it’s actually there. Or, if needed, we can first make sure it actually IS there, and then show the others.
In relation to the people we choose to care about, whose opinions matter to us, who we want to serve as professionals (and otherwise), taking the initiative and making the first steps is always on us.
P.S. MBLO Workshops are about what’s important, what matters and how we can communicate it. Click here to see, which Open MBLO Workshops are coming up.
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