How to Create an Environment Where Good Lawyers Can Flourish

1.  Put the goal of serving the true interests of clients ahead of the goal of maximizing profits.

2.  Emphasize mastery goals more than performance goals.

3.  Emphasize internal motivation over external incentives.

4.  Use a Gestalt-like process to evaluate attorneys, not a rigid grading grid which underweights "soft" qualities.

5.  Provide regular feedback and mentoring opportunities for associates and encourage associates to offer constructive criticism of partners.

6.  Pardon small offenses and keep rules to a minimum.

7.  Assess decisions in a long-term, not a short-term, framework.

8.  Treat different lawyers differently.

9.  Do not have a billable hours requirement, which encourages dishonesty and provides an incentive to use time-consuming strategies which are not in the best interests of clients.