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NAME: Kay Tatum
TITLE: Partner
FIRM: Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP
PRACTICE AREA: Business & Finance
Most successful/Favorite Rainmaking tip:
Don’t underestimate the time it takes to develop
business opportunities. It sometimes takes several years
of effort to bring in a client. Don’t abandon
efforts because they do not have a quick pay off.
Biggest influence on career/best career advice:
When I was a second year associate, I began working
with Frank Pearl. For those of you who know Frank, he
is an amazing negotiator. I watched Frank use his personal
strengths and personality to be the most effective negotiator
I have ever seen. By observing him, I learned that it
would not work for me to adopt his style. However, I
was able to figure out my own strengths and develop
a negotiating style that works well for me. I would
recommend to others to observe closely the work styles
of successful lawyers but adopt a style that is genuine
for you and which is built on your strengths.
Percentage of time devoted to marketing:
Performing good work for an existing client is perhaps
the most effective marketing. It is a constant struggle
to make time for efforts that are purely business development.
The amount of time I spend on marketing varies greatly
from month to month and year to year. I would estimate
the percentage ranges from 0 to more than 50% in a particular
week, depending on opportunities that come to my attention.
I think it is important to maintain a mental attitude
of constantly looking for marketing opportunities and
taking advantage of the best ones. It is just as important
to decline opportunities that have a low potential for
success.
Proudest accomplishment:
I am very grateful that I have had the opportunity to
practice law at a very high level in wonderful law firms
and that I have still managed to be a hands-on mother
who is very involved in all aspects of the lives of
my two wonderful sons, aged 13 and 15. It is not an
easy task.
If you were starting your career as a lawyer
over today, what would you do differently?
I would start working on developing business at a much
earlier stage in my career. When I started as a first
year associate at Baker & Botts in Houston in 1980,
my peers and I expected to be at the same firm for our
entire careers and to work for institutional clients.
I missed opportunities to stay in touch with young lawyers
who have moved on to positions where they have legal
work to hand out.
Tell me about one rainmaking strategy or tactic
that you initially thought would work, but it failed.
Why did it fail.
I used to believe that giving away work was a good way
to get paying work, and this strategy does work sometimes.
Often it does not. I have been amazed at how shameless
some people can be in asking for free advice without
any intention to send paying work my way.
Tell me about one rainmaking strategy or tactic
that you initially thought would fail, but it was a
great success. Why was it successful?
I can’t think of any “great successes.”
However, in recent years I have been involved in responding
to more and more requests for proposals. Responding
to RFPs can be frustrating. On more than one occasion
I have spent a great deal of time on a response only
to learn later the choice was made before the responses
were solicited. I must admit, though, that seeing what
information is solicited and working on proposals have
helped fine-tune my thinking and have helped me prepare
better marketing materials in other contexts.
What has been your greatest frustration about
trying to get new business or new clients?
I know that the effort must be constant, but finding
the time and peace of mind to be developing business
while I am very busy servicing existing clients is always
a challenge.
If you were mentoring a young woman lawyer,
what advice would you give her regarding rainmaking?
Some lawyers are comfortable being rainmakers and some
are not. It is hard work. As law firms become more competitive,
marketing becomes a more important component of a lawyer’s
success. I would advise my mentee to work on developing
her rainmaking skills as early as possible in her career.
If she discovers that she intensely dislikes business
development, she might be happier somewhere other than
a law firm where rainmaking is so critical to one’s
success.
Would you say you ever had a mentor that made
a genuine difference in how your career turned out?
If yes, please describe.
The closest I have ever had to a mentor is a woman who
became a partner when I was a young associate at Baker
& Botts. I did not work much with her but I have
watched her over the years. What she has done so remarkably
is to seize opportunities that present themselves. She
has been a securities lawyer, a labor lawyer and a health
care lawyer. Today she is running a large, sophisticated
health care provider. When she encountered obstacles
or opportunities, she had the confidence and drive to
take advantage of them by working hard to retool herself.
Think about when you started out as a lawyer.
Now think about the new female lawyers just starting
out. What is different now compared to when you started?
To me one of the biggest surprises is that it is not
as different as I expected it to be after 25 years.
I expected there to be many more women in high positions
in business and in management positions in law firms.
Progress has been made, for which I am grateful, but
it has not been as fast as I had expected.
Top
Interviewed by: Barrie E. Drum, Managing Director,
Citigate Global Intelligence
ABA Women Rainmakers is a national forum enabling women
to network and develop business opportunities. By understanding
how to develop business, women can exert greater control
over their careers and integrate their personal lives
successfully with the practice of law. For more information
on LPM Women Rainmakers, visit www.womenrainmakers.org.
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