In response to Scott Edward Walker’s article about the 10 reasons an entrepreneur might not be his or her lawyer’s greatest fan, I found an article that discusses why lawyers indeed can be great entrepreneurs and, hence, what others could learn from them. The article defines the following five major reasons why lawyers are (or should be) great entrepreneurs:
- They are good in analytical and sequential thinking;
- They have mastered (sooner or later) the art of negotiation;
- They are effective communicators and can well articulate and present their arguments;
- They are confident (while hopefully not arrogant);
- They are used to work in teams.
I guess, both the entrepreneur himself and his or her lawyer have a different set of skills whose combination might be essential for a start-up’s success. Hence, both should probably focus more on learning from each other and on the mutual benefits of this relationship, which might, nevertheless, not always simple and without conflicts.
I agree that some lawyers might be good entrepreneurs too and I also think that many skills teached and learned in law school can be very beneficial when starting an own business.
This article goes even further than that and proposes that lawyers should actually take an entrepreneurial approach to the practice of law.
http://www.lawtechnologytoday.org/2015/04/qa-lawyer-as-entrepreneur/
The article identifies in particular two reasons why such an approach would not only benefit the lawyers themselves but also their clients:
– The entrepreneurial mode of introducing an offering, getting feedback, and then tweaking the offering, makes it easier and quicker to identify a client’s specific needs than with the traditional hourly service model.
– New technology might provide new opportunities and ways for lawyers of providing legal information and advice to clients.
But the article also discusses some likely drawbacks, for example the fact that entrepreneurship per definition lacks security.
I would tend to agree that entrepreneurs should actually really appreciate lawyers. Afterall, the entrepreneur is seeking legal help that they could not/would not figure out on their own. If lawyers did not exist, entrepreneurs would have fill that role and thus be their own legal counsel, which would detract from their actual venture. I think that as we have seen in class, the key is in just finding the kind of lawyer who is entrepreneurially minded enough to appreciate your outlandish venture ideas and help you achieve that without ripping you off. Maybe the key is to just make them part of your board? I could see the ideal company being one where the CEO is an effectual reasoning type, always coming up with new ideas and solutions, whereas the COO is a lawyer, experienced in corporate law enough to both appreciate the CEOs ideas as well as protect them.