John Remsen | Essential Characteristics of Effective Law Firm Leaders

The Lawyer's Edge

John Remsen, Jr. is one of the country’s leading authorities on law firm leadership, management, marketing, and business development. He’s the Founder of TheRemsenGroup, a consulting firm that works exclusively with law firms to help them develop and implement strategic objectives to improve cohesiveness, performance, and profitability.

John is a frequent speaker and author on law firm leadership and marketing. He’s spoken at conferences of the American Bar Association, Association of Legal Administrators, and the Legal Marketing Association. Additionally, his articles have appeared in publications such as the ABA Journal, Law 360, and Lawyers Weekly, among many other prestigious journals.

In 2001, John created the Managing Partner Forum, the nation’s richest source of information and a highly acclaimed conference series for leaders of midsize law firms. With decades of experience in law firm leadership and management, John knows that being an effective leader requires credibility, a firm-first attitude, a positive mindset, and the ability to be a catalyst for change.

In this episode…

No one is taught how to become an effective leader in law school. However, leadership is a crucial part of running any business. So where can leaders (and aspiring leaders) turn to develop their skills, support their firms, and become the best leaders possible?

According to John Remsen, the key characteristics that set outstanding leaders apart include a firm-first attitude, optimism, communication skills, and the ability to enact change. But leadership goes beyond these attributes. John adds that leaders should also seek development outside of the industry, avoid tolerating toxic behaviors in the workplace, and make decisions that better the firm — instead of trying to make everyone happy.

In this episode of The Lawyer’s Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman is joined by John Remsen, Founder of TheRemsenGroup, to talk about the qualities of effective leaders and why they’re valuable within a law firm. John also shares advice on seeking support from other leaders and associations, the successful strategies law firms use to select their leaders, and tips to develop future leaders at your firm.