Podcast: #WhyMcGlinchey, Lateral to Leadership with Chris Bottcher

The path to partnership looks different for every lawyer. During today’s installment of #WhyMcGlinchey, we talk with Chris Bottcher about why he has chosen to grow his career here at McGlinchey.

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Margeaux Roush: Welcome to the #WhyMcGlinchey series of the More with McGlinchey podcast, where we talk about our laterals and why they decided to join, stay, and grow their practice here at McGlinchey. I’m Margeaux Roush, Director of Talent Acquisition, and joining me for the next installment of this series is Christopher Bottcher, managing member of our Birmingham office. How are you today, Chris?

Chris Bottcher: Doing great, Margeaux. How are you?

Margeaux Roush: Very, very well. One of the things that we’ve been doing with our laterals who have risen through the ranks is, the firm is reaching out to them and getting them to participate in and talk with us about why McGlinchey is special. Why don’t you tell us about your journey to joining McGlinchey? How did you come to the firm?

Chris Bottcher: Well, I was with a relatively large Alabama-based law firm for roughly 15 years before I joined McGlinchey. And I had very deep relationships at the firm. They were great people. I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot. But it wasn’t a great fit for my practice. When I talked to McGlinchey, it became apparent that it was going to be a better place for me. And so we looked at me joining the firm earlier. And that didn’t come to fruition. It wasn’t right for the firm, and it wasn’t right for me at the time. But in 2015, when I was approached, the timing was right.

For me, I had clients located all over the country, and I was only able to handle their Alabama work. And I was referring a lot of matters to friends in other states. That was great at Christmas time because everybody sent me coffee and scotch and whatever else to show their appreciation. By joining McGlinchey, I was able to capture a lot of those, and my numbers, I’m pretty safe in saying they more than doubled between what I did the last year at my old firm and just moving to McGlinchey. And not even having to bring in new clients. It was the same clients, but I could now do their work elsewhere.

Margeaux Roush: So Chris, tell me a little bit about, aside from our footprint and from bringing clients here, why do you stay? What excites you about being at McGlinchey full-time, almost ten years later?

Well, I was with a relatively large Alabama-based law firm for roughly 15 years before I joined McGlinchey. And I had very deep relationships at the firm. They were great people. I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot. But it wasn’t a great fit for my practice. When I talked to McGlinchey, it became apparent that it was going to be a better place for me.

Chris Bottcher: That’s a great question. One of the things that I didn’t appreciate at my prior firm was the benefit of specialization. I was doing a lot of different things, including financial services litigation, while I was there, and most of my partners were similar to me in that respect. They had a general broad-based litigation practice. But in joining McGlinchey, with its deep historical ties to financial services clients, both on the compliance/regulatory and litigation sides, I’ve really come to appreciate the specialization and how nuanced we can be with our practice because of that.

The other thing that I like about McGlinchey is that, I thought I appreciated, and did appreciate, the freedom that I had at my other firm, where there wasn’t any oversight of my business development activities and that kind of thing. Which was fine in one respect, but one thing I’ve noticed since I’ve gotten here is that there’s such a team approach to business development and client development that if I mention, “Hey, I’m going to see client X and you know, I’m thinking about doing Y,” there are people that will jump in and say, “Hey, you know, you ought to consider taking this lawyer from another office,” or, “do you know that they are doing this in this market and we have someone that can help them.” So the input that we get is not overbearing, but I appreciate other people’s perspectives and input.

Margeaux Roush: I agree. One of the things that we’ve been successful with over the last ten years is building out our business team. And we do have top-notch resources on that front. One of the nice things you touched on is that not only are we very well integrated, but our marketing and business development team can help you figure out who else would complement your skill set on a particular pitch or a meeting or something like that. They can also help you think about those perspectives of what your client might need from you. Because sometimes it’s easy to get tunnel vision when you’re just doing your own thing. So it’s great that we’ve provided you with those resources.

When thinking about your dream team, we’ve been focusing a lot on building out a number of our offices and filling out our footprints to hire people in places where we have office space and we have work to be done. We have a really strong referral network within the firm. If you were going to build that dream team of laterals in Birmingham right now, what kinds of talent would you be looking for?

By joining McGlinchey, I was able to capture a lot of those, and my numbers, I’m pretty safe in saying they more than doubled, between what I did the last year at my old firm and just moving to McGlinchey. And not even having to bring in new clients. It was the same clients, but I could now do their work elsewhere.

Chris Bottcher: Wow. So, I would like to add to our Bankruptcy/Creditors’ Rights practice here. That’s an aspect of my practice, but I’d like to have someone here who does it all day, every day. We see that as a practice area that’s going to grow as the economy changes over time. I’d also like a corporate-type lawyer who forms businesses and advises companies on corporate matters. A lot of times, that’s a tax lawyer. So that would be nice. We do have a tax lawyer here, and I know he would like to have someone right down the hall with whom he could collaborate. And then a real estate lawyer. With our banking connections, we have clients that would send Alabama loan closings if we had a resource locally that could do them.

Margeaux Roush: When you consider these laterals, obviously, we’re talking about people who could port some business and be self-sufficient or practically self-sufficient. What do you think these laterals should be thinking about when they’re considering a firm? What are some of the things that maybe aren’t apparent from the outside of McGlinchey that are worth noting?

Chris Bottcher: One of the things that people really need to consider is, will the firm you’re going to support your growth and development? Since I’ve gotten to McGlinchey, I have never been turned down for any client development expenditure or effort I wanted to make. I think that’s great. When I first joined the firm, I called Michael Ferachi, our managing partner, to ask permission to expense a particular client development trip. His response to me was, “Look, you’re a professional. You have good judgment. As long as you show good judgment, I don’t really need to be involved,” and that’s been great. And for the last nine years now, nobody’s ever turned me down for anything, which is fantastic.

The other thing is having partners that help you. It’s great to go to a firm with 600 lawyers, but if 599 of them are not willing to help you with your clients, with your business development, with whatever issues you’re having, then all that size is for naught. So here at McGlinchey, one of the things that has shocked me is just how culturally ingrained it is to help each other. If somebody calls and says, “Chris, I need you to help me with a pitch in Dallas,” it would be really bad form for me not to say, “I’ll be there.” People understand that life happens, and I’m certainly not going to miss my son’s graduation or something like that. But it is bad form not to help here. That has been huge for me, and I’ve been surprised at how willing some of my partners who have multi-million dollar books of business have been to help me make a pitch for a couple of hundred thousand dollars in business.

Joining McGlinchey, with its deep historical ties to financial services clients, both on the compliance/regulatory and litigation sides: I’ve really come to appreciate the specialization and how nuanced we can be with our practice because of that.

Margeaux Roush: Chris, you’ve been very supportive of growth. You’ve been a go-getter, and the talent acquisition team has been able to rely on you, follow up with you on leads, and get you to help us push in certain directions to find viable talent. I remember from the very first day you started, you were already looking for additional talent to bring in and grow, whether it was in Birmingham or somewhere else. That’s really refreshing. Do you feel like your voice is heard on that front? Do you have a seat at the table when it comes to recruiting?

Chris Bottcher: Absolutely. I’ve been involved in recruiting efforts for lawyers in Texas, our DC area office, Florida, and Alabama. One of the neat things about McGlinchey is that although we’re so widely distributed across our offices, you don’t really get the sense that there is a home office. You don’t feel, or I feel, like I’m in a satellite office. I’ve had a chance to be involved in several leadership positions, even though I’m in one of the firm’s smallest offices. And that’s been nice. I feel like I do have a seat at the table, and people hear what I have to say.

Margeaux Roush: That’s incredible, and that’s what we like. That’s the whole theme of what we are going for with “Lateral to Leadership.” When you came in, I don’t think you necessarily had a vision of where everything would go, but I hope this has been a positive journey. We’ve watched you grow and grow your book and grow within the firm, as well as being a mentor to a lot of the associates here. You work very closely with associates in all of our FSL offices. It’s very nice to see.

Chris Bottcher: Well, thank you. It’s been a lot of fun.  It’s amazing to think about how different life is now than ten years ago. Because I worked with lawyers all over Alabama back then, but today, I’ll be on the phone with people from Cleveland, Florida, and Dallas. That’s a normal day working with McGlinchey.

Margeaux Roush: I love the fact that we are so integrated in that way. Our clients in California, if we have the same client in New York, they know that they’re getting the same level of service, treatment, and detail. There is someone overseeing that client and working with that client, and I know you have some national and regional clients with whom you work. Do you think they feel that way? Are they getting the same level of service in California and New York?

Here at McGlinchey, one of the things that has shocked me is just how culturally ingrained it is to help each other. If somebody calls and says, “Chris, I need you to help me with a pitch in Dallas,” it would be really bad form for me not to say, “I’ll be there.” … it is bad form not to help here. That has been huge for me.

Chris Bottcher: I do. And it’s been refreshing. I made a pitch to a client last month, and we’re going to discuss it next week. One of the things that they’ve mentioned is that they’re trying to pare down the number of law firms that they’re dealing with. We are in the mix because we are in so many different places and can service them from Albany to Fort Lauderdale all the way over to Irvine. I think that’s been great.

Margeaux Roush: When you’re thinking about mentoring younger lawyers, or advice given to you as a lawyer, what’s something that stuck with you as far as a piece of advice for attorneys?

Chris Bottcher: One of the things that I always tell young lawyers is that you’re not going to win every battle. Sometimes, we are hired in cases because the client is really, really behind the eight ball. And it’s okay to lose as long as you don’t lose because you got outworked. You can still be on a winning team and lose a battle every now and then. Look at Nick Saban, the greatest coach of all time, even he’s lost football games.

Margeaux Roush: I knew you were going get in a little “Roll Tide.”

Chris Bottcher: But I think that’s important. And also I think it’s important for young lawyers to feel like they have somebody they can talk to about questions. Coming out of law school, you’re certainly prepared to research and write, but some of the real-world situations that you encounter and the business problems that are ancillary to the legal problems can be difficult to navigate. I think it’s really important to have an open-door policy where they can call and ask what they think is a stupid question without being belittled or turned away.

Margeaux Roush: Absolutely. You’re very approachable. You’re very easy to talk to and talk with, and I don’t think anyone would have problems approaching you. When you’re a young lawyer, you’re trying to figure out the business side of a law firm and how to work in a law firm. That’s definitely something that the firm has shifted into its focus.

I think it’s important for young lawyers to feel like they have somebody they can talk to about questions. Coming out of law school, you’re certainly prepared to research and write, but some of the real-world situations that you encounter and the business problems that are ancillary to the legal problems can be difficult to navigate. I think it’s really important to have an open-door policy where they can call and ask what they think is a stupid question without being belittled or turned away.

One of the things that we’re working on now as part of a number of initiatives is transparency. Having that kind of transparency from the top down is very important at this firm. We’re holding trainings right now on the Associate “McGlinchey Excellence” Committee on what the business of law is all about. And I’m sure that one of the things that you’ve taken advantage of is that our C-suite has an open-door policy for anything. They’re so incredibly approachable. Tell me about your relationship with some of our C-suite and some of the other leaders at the firm.

Chris Bottcher: There was a time that I was actually in the C-suite, so I feel comfortable talking to the managing partner, managing member, and other policy committee members. The atmosphere here is so collegial, and the organization is really flat. For me to pick up the phone and call Mark Edelman and say, “I’ve got this business development opportunity. Is it something that fits your practice,” or to ask a question. As busy as Mark is, he is great about that. And that would be the same for Anthony Rollo or Michael Ferachi, even the lowly Shaun Ramey. We collaborate on everything from cases to business development to administrative issues in the office. And I think that’s one of the brightest aspects of this firm.

Margeaux Roush: You and Shaun have known each other for a number of years. You knew Shaun before you came to McGlinchey, so tell us a little about how you know Shaun Ramey.

Chris Bottcher: The day I started work, Shaun was starting his first day, too. So we were in adjacent offices for 12 or 13 years at our old firm and in practice there for 15 years together. When I joined McGlinchey, within six months, we started talking to Shaun to get him to join. And we were fortunate to recruit him over. He’s a good friend, a great guy, and a good lawyer. And I think that he has really thrived in our system, and as his friend, it’s a good thing to see.

Margeaux Roush: It’s very nice to see the relationships you guys formed outside in the world coming together here, because it was similar to your journey where we talked to or heard about you once or twice, and it wasn’t the right time. When it was the right time, we were able to build an office around you and open an office around you. We did something fairly similar with Shaun Ramey. It took a number of years for us to talk with him because he knew exactly where he wanted to be, and he was waiting for the right opportunity.

It’s neat to see people who are on these long journeys to join McGlinchey. It’s not an immediate decision. And if we need to talk four, five, six times at different points in your career to see when you’re ready, then we’ll try and make it work. I have lawyers that lateral here that I have worked with for five years before I got them in the door. So we have a long history of continuing to go back to that well and nurturing relationships.

So tell me something about Birmingham that makes it a special office. Tell me something, whether it’s the staff, the people you work with, the location. Tell me something about Birmingham that’s a draw, that would be important to someone coming to work at McGlinchey.

Chris Bottcher: Well, there’s so many things about Birmingham that I like. You know, obviously, we have a really collegial group here. We don’t have office prima donnas, and everybody, from our legal assistant to the lawyers here, just gets along really well, pitches in, and helps. It’s a pretty relaxed atmosphere. We’re business casual most days. One of the things about Birmingham is that it’s a little unique, I think, in this era, everybody comes to the office. Even though we have the flexibility for work from home, you know, most lawyers are here every day, which is nice. Our location is fantastic. We have adjacent parking, which is a big deal here in Birmingham in the downtown area. Yeah, it’s a great place to be.

Margeaux Roush: One of my favorite things about the Birmingham office is that you have all the support of a mid-size or larger firm in a smaller environment. You don’t necessarily feel like anyone’s checking up on you. You’ve got the freedom and autonomy to do what you need to do to get things done. But at the same time, you have all the support and a fun environment to come to work, which is great.

Chris Bottcher: That’s a very good point because we really do have the support and the infrastructure of a larger organization. It’s interesting to see how easy it is to leverage that from here, with technology and everything. It’s pretty seamless, even though we don’t have everything physically in Birmingham. It can be done from New Orleans, Dallas, or Houston,  as the case may be.

We have a really collegial group here. We don’t have office prima donnas, and everybody, from our legal assistant to the lawyers here, just gets along really well, pitches in, and helps.

Margeaux Roush: One of the firm’s initiatives, and you’ve touched on this a bit with your “dream team” list, is that we’re trying to work towards a full-service business defense firm. And we’ve been working towards that in all areas. And building out your office with tax, real estate, bankruptcy, creditors’ rights attorneys, I can throw some labor and employment lawyers in there, too. The deeper we can make our bench in all of these areas is what we’re excited about. And it’s really exciting to know that you’re constantly looking for us.

What do you think is your best way of helping to recruit laterals? What is your methodology? Do you call your friends? Do you walk up to somebody at a kid’s basketball game? What’s your methodology?

Chris Bottcher: Normally, it’s people that I like, whether they’re in this market or not. And that’s a big deal. We do have the, and I’ll use the polite term, the “no jerk” goal for our firm. You want to work with people that you like. A lot of times, it’s somebody on the opposite side of a matter. You’re working a deal with them or interacting with them in some capacity, and you say, “You know what? I’d really like to work with this person.” And just tell them a little bit about the firm and find out what their interest level is. And most of the time, it doesn’t lead anywhere. But you’d be surprised how often somebody calls me back 6, 8, 9 months later and says, “Hey, things have changed with my situation, and you know, I’m now interested in talking.” That’s generally been my approach.

Margeaux Roush: That’s a cool way of recruiting people from the opposite side of the table. We could have conflicts issues, and we would run through those at the beginning of any conversation, but we’ve seen people switch sides before.

Chris Bottcher: Yeah.

Margeaux Roush: Thank you so much for spending time with me today, Chris. I really appreciate your insight on all things lateral to leadership.

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