Much ink has been spilled over the various alleged evils attributed to the legal profession. One such evil is the adequacy of the methods by which lawyers do business. There seems to be continual debate over every single facet of the law practice, from client billing methods to the working conditions of attorneys in firms. This focus on only the methods by which we do business is a bottom-up approach, centered on technique and form over substance. Such an approach ignores and therefore fails focus on the values the firm has chosen to embody.

Today one of the more complicated challenges facing law firms is the ability to bridge cultural divides and expectations within a multigenerational workforce. Law firms are often comprised of a wide swath of generations, from partners in their early sixties nearing retirement to young associates in their mid-twenties. The McBrayer group is no different. While our oldest attorneys are Baby Boomers, our newest associates are Millennials, a generation of people who have come of age in the shadow of today's modern technology. To add to this mix is Generation X, sandwiched in between. Each generation brings with it its own life experiences and expectations about the culture of the firm, the amount of work required to be successful within the firm, and what it believes is the appropriate balance between work and life. Often times, these expectations do not appear compatible. However, reflexive leadership responds to these varying expectations and applies these unique generational characteristics in the ways that best serve the firm and its clients.