CBA Record January-February 2023

YOUNG L AWYERS S EC T I ON : BU I LD I NG BR I DGE S

Take Charge of Your Legal Career Through Radical Ownership By Daniel Berkowitz

CBA YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION Chair Daniel Berkowitz Aronberg Goldgehn First Vice-Chair Martin Gould Romanucci & Blandin, LLC Second Vice-Chair Kenneth Matuszewski Goldberg Segalla LLP Member Service Manager Gavin Phelps Phelps LLC Public Service Manager Margaret Mendenhall Casey City of Chicago

basics of legal research and writing. How ever, law schools sometimes fall short in preparing students to successfully navigate their legal careers when these schools fail to emphasize or teach the integral impor tance of developing soft skills. New law yers are left, then, to develop these skills on their own. A lack of soft skills can create frustration among supervising attorneys or even other young attorneys working on a team with people who have not fully developed these professional skills. To that end, I wanted to make a pitch for the increased emphasis on a particu lar skill that I think will be helpful for young lawyers to embrace. I am confi dent any lawyer reading this column can develop this skill because it takes nothing more than effort. This skill is something I have labeled “Radical Ownership.” Radi cal Ownership is the idea that a lawyer accepts full responsibility for every assign ment and, importantly, every case they work on. Radical Ownership means that an attorney never assumes someone else will answer a question about a case, do the research to find the support for an argu ment in the motion, or tell them what needs to be done to move a case forward. Perhaps more importantly, Radical Own ership means an attorney accepts respon sibility for mistakes made during a case, even if a mistake is the result of someone else’s effort. Radical Ownership is the mentality of “the buck stops with me.” That is not to say that Radical Owner ship is lonely. In the words of John Donne, “no man is an island.” Of course, there is room for teamwork, shared responsibil ity, and asking questions to help guide your work. Most good legal work is the result of many hands. Radical Owner ship, though, provides a perspective that young lawyers sometimes lack, especially

I hope everyone had a restful and restor ative holiday season. It seems like the bar year has only just started, yet the turning of the calendar means it is officially halfway to being over. I always welcome the beginning of a new year, as it gives each of us the chance to start with a mental clean slate. It is the perfect time to reflect on our individual progress, assess our goals, and make changes to improve our lives, both personally and professionally. In the spirit of professional goal set ting, I wanted to use this space to discuss an issue that has come up in my conver sations over the past few months with various lawyers I respect greatly. These conversations have revolved around the lack of what are sometimes dubbed “soft skills” among younger lawyers. Soft skills are those which are not directly related to performing legal tasks – that is, tasks other than research, writing a brief, asking questions at a deposition, or arguing a motion – but that are essential to being a lawyer because they are key to successful professional functioning in a legal setting. Some examples are effective communica tion, proper time management, creative problem solving, adaptability, resource fulness, and being a good team player. It is no secret that law schools are set up well to teach black letter law and the

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Project Officer Aleksandra Petrovic Damisch & Damisch, Ltd. Secretary/Treasurer Kernisha Padilla Latham & Watkins

Co-Editors in Chief YLS Journal Theodore Kontopoulos FORVIS Jacob B. Berger Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC

YLS Journal Vice Chair Nikki Marcotte Tabet DiVito Rothstein LLC

Co-Editors in Chief @theBar Blog Alexandra Morelli Barker, Castro, Kuban & Steinback, LLC Brian Bentrup Pluymert, MacDonald, Hargrove & Lee, Ltd. YLS Administrative Director Emily Anderson

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