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LIFESTYLE Alter Ego |
As this column enters into its eighth year this month, acquaintances tell me that they have gotten to know me through this column; and friends tell me that they get an update on my life. I have learnt many lessons on life and law practice from many of the people that I have interviewed for this column. Meeting with Patrick Tan was a timely reminder of the reasons why I started my own law practice and why business growth cannot be avoided. You seldom meet someone who sounds like your inner voice and who has similar personal and professional values.
Like me, Patrick left a large law firm, Rodyk & Davidson, after a four-year stint. He also took a few months off to do some travelling prior to starting his own firm, and in 2004, set up his sole proprietorship, M/s Patrick Tan & Associates. In 2007, with a team of four staff, he decided to obtain PrimeLaw certification. In January 2008, he asked his good friend, Andrew Goh, to join him as a partner. He now has two legal associates, two practice trainees and 10 support staff.
Life in Rodyk & Davidson
He was supposed to begin his law career in the firm’s Conveyancing department. By chance, he was transferred to the Litigation department and worked under Low Chai Chong. He attributes much of his personal growth to Chai Chong. “He made me realise that law practice is not all about good legal knowledge, but more importantly, it is about people and relationships. He taught me the importance of networking and marketing.” Patrick, like many lawyers, was a little taken aback about having to engage in client cultivation and marketing. “Initially, it was difficult to pick up the telephone. How do I invite the client for lunch and what do I say to him in a social context?” However, he slowly got used to the idea and he now spends half his time on business development.
Wanting to find his life directions, Patrick left Rodyk.
Trip to Eastern Europe
After leaving Rodyk, Patrick spent four months back-packing in Europe. “I came back broke, but rich in terms of experiences and clarity about my future.” Besides feeling privileged about his life, he decided do something different by helping people with his legal knowledge. He later decided to set the mission of his law practice to be the leading legal service provider in Singapore.
Trend of Large Law Firm Lawyers Joining Smaller Law Firms
This continuous trend is due to some lawyers simply not being prepared to put in the long hours and coming to a realisation that their time spent in the large firms does not necessarily give them high returns. “After a number of years, they want to take ownership of their lives and focus on things that are important to them,” says Patrick.
Many of these lawyers also opt to return to large firms again. “It could be due to inadequate preparatory work before they left the large firm. You have to know the end game and the type of law practice that you want to carve for yourself. Can you articulate your mission statement, vision and objectives clearly? Are you prepared for the initial difficult journey ahead and the financial pay-offs?”
Such soft skills are not taught in law school or in the Postgraduate Practical Law Course. So, where did he learn them? Self-help books, he says with a smile.
Are People’s Park and Chinatown Lawyers Inferior to Those in the Central Business District?
“When I was a sole proprietor, I was surprised by a comment made by a lawyer that People’s Park lawyers do not wear cuff-links and that People’s Park lawyers are different from the Raffles Place lawyers.” Although there is some misconception about sole proprietors, Patrick feels that sometimes we may be the ones responsible for creating negative perceptions about ourselves and as a result suffer an inferiority complex. “The law students do not know about small law firms and the benefits of working in one. We have not reached out to them. Like the large law firms, I do not see why we cannot reach out to these students.” During the recent National University of Singapore Law Career Fair, his firm was the only small firm that ran a booth alongside the large firms. There, he managed to recruit about 20 interns and a few trainees for his law firm.
Hesitancy of Small Law Firms to Grow Big
Autonomy and fear of partnership disputes are some of the reasons why sole proprietors do not grow into medium-sized firms. Patrick agrees that there has to be a “huge element of trust” between the sole proprietor and the incoming partners. In a sense, Patrick was forced to grow his law practice. “I had a health issue which required me to rest for about two weeks. Also, I had reached a plateau in my business. Billings were not progressively increasing and I felt that growth was stagnant.”
Recounting the initial period of the partnership, Patrick acknowledged that it was difficult while the two partners were trying to adjust to each other and sorting out their respective roles and responsibilities in the firm. Andrew manages the litigation practice and Patrick focuses on firm management and business development.
It helped that his partner was also his friend. Both of them maintain professional, open and honest communication with each other on matters relating to the business. “We operate in a true partnership fashion, with one client’s account and so forth.”
The PrimeLaw Journey
Patrick had put in place certain practice management systems in his sole proprietorship. So, it was a natural progression for him to make a decision to embrace PrimeLaw.
He then had to convince his staff to assist him in the project. “I shared with them about the tangible benefits of the certification – it will create good work systems and processes which will reduce work stress and help them to be productive in their daily work. They began to understand that PrimeLaw would give us a good platform to market our legal services, increase our revenue and will eventually benefit them financially.” He formed a Steering Committee in his firm and spent about 80 hours during the weekends over a one-year period to prepare for the PrimeLaw certification exercise.
He did not give up because he wanted to honour the commitment that he had made to the Law Society to be PrimeLaw ready. “Frankly, the whole exercise is not daunting. The templates found in the PrimeLaw manual together with the support from the Consultant, Bizibody, made the job much easier than I expected.” After obtaining the certification, the firm had to undergo an annual re-assessment, followed by a major re-assessment three years later.
The Standards Committee within the firm is responsible for the maintenance of the PrimeLaw Standards. They meet quarterly to do their own internal audit, rectify any lapses and update Standard Operating Procedures and Manuals.
Did PrimeLaw give his firm the credibility that he was looking for? Not sufficient credibility, he tells me and explains, “Many clients have the misconception that PrimeLaw is the name of my firm. So, a lot of work needs to be done to create more awareness of PrimeLaw.” His other wishlist for PrimeLaw: educate lawyers so as to change their perception about the PrimeLaw processes, devise a PrimeLaw manual to fit the needs of the small law firms, and make it attractive by offering more subsidies and privileges.
Every Lawyer has a Role in Pro Bono Work
A supporter of pro bono work, Patrick volunteers in the Law Society’s Community Legal Clinics. He shares his feedback: “Currently, each member of the public only gets 20 minutes of free legal advice; when he wants to engage your services, you have to turn him away and refer him instead to the Law Society website or the internet to find a lawyer, and there is also a backlog of cases, not to mention a dearth of volunteers.” So, every law firm including the small law firm should be a stakeholder in pro bono initiatives? He agrees with me.
His firm, which focuses on personal law, has recently set up a branch office in Marine Parade, the reason being legal services must be accessible to the public. It was also this reason which prompted him to serve in the Law Society’s Law Awareness Committee, of which he is Vice-Chairman.
Personal Side
Patrick’s soft demeanour made me curious to know more about him. I ask him about his weaknesses. He says he tends to be impatient, and gets involved in too many things at one go (besides his professional commitments, he is also an avid reader, plays golf, exercises in the gym, got married and completed the inaugural Singapore Urbanathlon race this year). His one regret is not expanding his firm earlier.
I dig further and ask him about his role model. His quick answer - Minister Mentor Lee. “I am just blown away by how he transformed Singapore in less than 40 years. Not only is that remarkable, it is inspiring to me at a time when I am building up my law firm”. This analogy is indeed quite apt. If Singapore, a small country, can become a well developed, much respected and popular country, surely small law firms can thrive as well.
Rajan Chettiar
Rajan Chettiar & Co
E-mail: rajan@rajanchettiar.com