Around the water cooler: Q & A with Todd C. Jacobs

Each week we will pose these three questions to different lawyers in the legal community.

Today we talk with Todd C. Jacobs, managing principal at Grippo & Elden, which is primarily a litigation boutique with 46 lawyers handling complex, high-stakes commercial cases. He’s been practicing since 1989.

What do you find the most interesting about your practice?

Because we litigate all manner and variety of commercial cases nationwide, I am continually exposed to a variety of subject matters before different courts and arbitrators and involving counsel from across the country. This exposure to a variety of different situations and actors keeps the practice fresh.  For example, in the past two years, I tried a case in New York, had extensive pretrial proceedings in two cases in California and was also involved in active litigations pending in Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. I really enjoy the challenge of dealing with these different situations. In addition, because I am the firm’s managing principal, I’m extensively involved in the business end of running our law practice. Helping to run a small business in an increasingly competitive marketplace means there are fresh challenges daily.

What makes a good lawyer?

I think a good lawyer needs to have the full package: Good analytic and people skills, experience, adaptability and the ability to solve problems in a timely and efficient manner. A really underrated skill is the ability to listen to a client’s concerns and implement a strategy designed to assist the client achieve its goals. A successful result should be defined as one that is in-line with the client’s needs and concerns, not necessarily his or her lawyer’s.

What is the biggest legal news right now, and what is its impact?

There are a number of interesting current developments in the profession, but the one that concerns me the most is the reputed widespread disaffection of young lawyers. Young lawyers in large numbers are unhappy, not getting adequate training or experience and planning to leave their firms and/or the law entirely. These people are the future of our legal system and, not to be too melodramatic about it, the future of justice in this country.

We need to do more as a profession to make sure talented young lawyers are properly mentored and trained.  Many of the internal programs we have implemented at Grippo (training, mentoring, early responsibility on cases etc.) are designed to buck the trend and ensure that young lawyers are provided opportunities to develop and be challenged from their first day at work.