Craig S. Hudson

Over this past year, much has been written and said about what employees of today want from their employer, regardless of the industry. While every so-called expert and pundit has their own perspective, a few consistent themes emerge. Employees want their employer to be invested in their professional and personal development. Employees want constant feedback, affirmation and direction. Employees want to be treated with respect and dignity. Employees want their workplace to have a sense of community and to believe they are a part of a team.

To Marshall Dennehey, the aspirations of today’s employees are nothing new. What today’s employees are purportedly looking for in their workplace environment has always been found at Marshall Dennehey. A staple of our culture has been to treat each and every employee, regardless of their position, with respect and dignity. We have long believed in creating a positive workplace environment that fosters a sense of community and teamwork. We have a tradition of making and keeping our commitment to every employee’s professional development. Our culture is why so many of our professional and non-professional staff spend their entire working life at Marshall Dennehey. It is why we have a number of shareholders who have spent their entire careers at Marshall Dennehey. It is why, when lateral attorneys join us, they lament that they failed to make the jump sooner. It is why many of our administrative directors and managers, who started at an entry level position, now find themselves responsible for numerous employees and key operational functions. 

Our desire is to attract employees who we believe will thrive at Marshall Dennehey. Our process is to involve a number of employees in recruitment and interviewing to bring different perspectives and life experiences to the table. This ensures that we embrace each potential employee’s differences. The paramount reason for doing so is to identify potential employees who will be successful regardless of their background. We look for individuals who have the potential to be long-term employees and who are themselves sincerely looking for such an opportunity. 

Our commitment to the long-term success of our employees is evident immediately after a person is hired and begins working at Marshall Dennehey. Long before “on-boarding” became a catch phrase, we expended a great deal of time, energy and expense in the training of new employees. Every new employee goes through our on-board program. The initial training includes sessions by our administrative departments on our structure, systems and best practices. The training also includes presentations on our history and culture. Additionally, the on-boarding process provides every new employee the opportunity to establish a rapport with other employees at Marshall Dennehey to facilitate teamwork. 

For attorneys, the on-boarding process does not end with their initial training session. Twice a year, we hold a “New Attorney” orientation, where we bring every newly-hired attorney, regardless of their experience, back to Philadelphia for a two-day meeting and dinner. At this two-day session, hosted by Larry Schempp, our Director of Professional Development and Training, recently hired attorneys meet the members of the Executive Committee, the practice group directors, our CFO, COO and other administrative directors. There are workshops and training sessions that are incorporated to enhance their professional development, as well as sessions dedicated to explaining Marshall Dennehey’s structure, history, and culture. 

For our associates in Philadelphia, Larry Schempp hosts frequent in-house “Lunch and Learn” CLEs that not only provide training and professional development, but they also create an opportunity for the associates, regardless of their practice group, to get to know one another and to establish relationships that serve them well during their careers. For the associates in our offices outside of Philadelphia, we hold similar training sessions. In addition, we hold annual two-day conferences that bring associates from several of our offices together. The program, designed by Larry, includes presentations from shareholders, administrative directors, and at least one member of the Executive Committee, all geared to enhance their professional development and success at Marshall Dennehey. 

Every associate is assigned to one of our four Practice Departments, and they are then assigned to work in smaller practice groups within their department. Every new associate is assigned a supervising attorney. Assigning a new associate to work with a limited number of attorneys allows each associate the opportunity to specialize in a particular area and to receive one-on-one training from a more seasoned lawyer. Supervising attorneys are charged with finding opportunities for the associates to interact with claims professionals, clients, opposing counsel, judges, and, when appropriate, to handle depositions and arguments on motions. We want our associates out front, and working with senior attorneys—not confined to working behind the scenes. We believe this is how you effectively train associates. In granting these opportunities, the associate becomes part of the team, and their hard work and accomplishments are recognized. Supervising attorneys and other senior lawyers are encouraged to provide constant feedback and mentoring to the associates in their group. 

Relatedly, every associate has formal mid-year and end-of-year review meetings with their supervising attorney. This lets the associate know what they are doing right and identifies areas that need improvement. During their review, the associate is encouraged to identify their accomplishments, raise any concerns they may have and specify how the firm can assist them in their professional development.

Mentoring of associates at Marshall Dennehey has always played a key role in the development and retention of lawyers. I know that every shareholder at Marshall Dennehey recognizes that they had mentors who were instrumental in their success. Consequently, our more experienced attorneys embrace being a mentor themselves. While we have always encouraged and stressed the importance of mentorship to the success and retention of associates, our Executive Advisory Committee and our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee are both actively engaged in working with our Executive Committee to identify opportunities to further enhance the mentoring process. 

Perhaps nothing demonstrates our desire to create a workplace environment that is collaborative and provides opportunities for success better than having a compensation system for attorneys that is not origination-based. This has always been the foundation of our compensation system. Every attorney’s year-over-year compensation is based on their overall contribution to the firm, not just the hours they have billed or the work they have generated. In determining each attorney’s compensation, a number of factors are considered, including how an attorney treats staff members and other attorneys, and whether they are a team player, willing to assist others. Our system encourages our associates to help one another. Because our compensation system is not origination-based, our lawyers are more apt and, in fact, are encouraged to share opportunities with each other. The lack of an origination-based compensation system is also why our senior attorneys are so receptive to having associates communicate and work directly with clients and claims professionals. A non-origination-based compensation system also serves our desire to become a more diverse and inclusive workforce. 

When I interview associates from other firms, I am surprised to hear that at some firms, associates are not permitted to communicate directly with the client or claims professional. Apparently, this grows out of some concern that the associate may establish a relationship with the client or claims professional and someday take the client away from the partner. Such a concern does not exist at Marshall Dennehey. We want our associates to have direct communications with claims professionals and clients. In doing so, we make associates part of the team and invest them in serving our clients’ best interests. 

Another part of our firm structure and culture that creates a sense of being part of a team is that every shareholder owns one share of stock. We don’t have equity and non-equity shareholders. And we do elevate associates to shareholder. In fact, we do it every year. Just this past year, we welcomed 17 new shareholders. Many of them have spent their entire legal careers at Marshall Dennehey. These 17 newly-elected shareholders have demonstrated that they possess the talent, drive, and dedication to be successful attorneys and, importantly, that they have the qualities that enhance our firm’s culture. 

Perhaps there is no better example of Marshall Dennehey’s sense of commitment to its professional and non-professional staff than the fact that, back in the early stages of the pandemic, when we went into a “lockdown” of unknown duration, we decided that we would not lay off any employees or cut compensation. This was done because we at Marshall Dennehey are a community that stands together. 

As a community, we emphasize that we talk to each other face-to-face and not through a computer screen or during a scheduled Zoom call. We need to confront issues together and share our insights and experiences. None of this happens if we are working from home. This is why we adopted a hybrid return-to-the-office policy that requires professional and non-professional staff to work a specified minimum number of days in the office. A majority of our professional and non-professional staff have elected to return to their pre-pandemic routine of working in the office every day. This is a testament to our positive and fulfilling working environment.

Marshall Dennehey’s desire to create a positive and enriching workplace environment is nothing new. We described our culture and our continued aspirations for that culture on our website well over a decade ago: 

•    It’s a culture that treats employees fairly and respectfully, be they shareholders, associates, administrative assistants, receptionists or file clerks. 
•    It’s a culture that recognizes and promotes diversity among its members. 
•    It's a culture in which lawyers like and trust one another and like and trust their leadership.
•    It's a culture that hires employees with the hope and expectation they will finish their careers at the firm. 
•    It's a culture that encourages and rewards loyalty, humility and teamwork. 

This statement of Marshall Dennehey’s culture remains just as accurate and important today as it did many years ago. It is a culture we are dedicated to preserving. 
 

_{Defense Digest, Vol. 28, No. 1, April 2022 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1. © 2022 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.}