Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the United States Supreme Court gave us this definition of professionalism:
"To me, the essence of professionalism is a commitment to develop one’s skills to the fullest and to apply that responsibility to the problems at hand. Professionalism requires adherence to the highest ethical standards of conduct and a willingness to subordinate narrow self-interest in pursuit of the more fundamental goal of public service. Because of the tremendous power they wield in our system, lawyers must never forget that their duty to serve their clients fairly and skillfully takes priority over the personal accumulation of wealth. At the same time, lawyers must temper bold advocacy for their clients with a sense of responsibility to the larger legal system which strives, however imperfectly, to provide justice for all."
Fredrikson has a long history of using a very democratic management style. Unlike many firms that are governed by a few senior partners, Fredrikson is managed by a Board elected by all of the shareholders. Financial information about the firm is distributed to all attorneys on a monthly basis. Our philosophy is that all attorneys can and should be deeply interested in the operations of the firm, because the future of the firm is inexorably intertwined with each attorney.
That is one reason the firm encourages lawyers to be entrepreneurial. The firm is designed to be a platform that allows each attorney to develop an expertise and a practice. We strive to encourage individuality in a culture of teamwork. In short, you are encouraged to take your career in the direction you would like, but you have help from colleagues while trying to get there.
The model has been quite successful. While many firms rely on just a few principal "rainmakers" for most of their work, the vast majority of shareholders at Fredrikson have practices that could be considered "independent," that is, large enough that the lawyer is a net exporter of work. The fact that so many lawyers have thriving practices keeps the firm stable. First, when just a few shareholders are responsible for most of the firms' work, those shareholders generally hold the power in the firm. The breadth of lawyers with practices strengthens the democratic culture of the firm. Second, if one sector of the economy struggles, or some clients fall upon hard times, the breadth of the client base helps minimize the financial impact on the firm.
Finally, our lawyers place a big emphasis on life outside of work. Our attorney's have passions in addition to the law. Whether it is spending time with family, stormchasing, playing in a band, playing with the firm's basketball team , softball league, touch football games or hockey teams, volunteering, lawn bowling, serving on a school board, or traveling around the world, you can find a lawyer at Fredrikson who has done it while practicing at the firm. We believe that these activities make us more effective lawyers, but realistically, we do them to have fun. There is no doubt that working as a lawyer is a substantial time commitment, but we make it a priority to have a well-balanced life.
Collegial, democratic, balanced and entrepreneurial. We at Fredrikson & Byron may take our work seriously, but we certainly do not take ourselves too seriously. Whether it is a firm talent show or pumpkin carving contest, we try to enjoy our work. As you can see from our summer program director's picture below, we try to have fun in everything we do.
The Summer Program's fearless leader
John Stout poses with his "twin" pumpkin head
Our Leadership
John Koneck and Kit Friedemann prepare to sumo wrestle
We have lawyers and staff with varied interests at Fredrikson & Byron. A few years ago, a group of lawyers and staff got together and started the F&B Band. The band, Noisy Withdrawal, has since performed at various firm functions. This year to date they played at our annual employee appreciation night talent show and the firm's officer party in honor of the summer associates. The group is a regular participant in the Minnesota Justice Fundraiser annual Attractive Nuisance Tour.
I believe the old saying goes "all work and no play . . .." As you will sense as you review our site, we enjoy what we do and who we do it with. The 2006 Summer Associates contributed to the enjoyable atmosphere throughout the summer but the impromptu "Wear a Bow Tie to Work Day" still brings a smile to our faces.
