Alan Levin had watched Barnes & Thornburg LLP expand from its Indiana roots to offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. However, the move to establish a presence in Western Michigan in 2003 had him a little nervous.
“It was a huge step for our partners to move out of our sweet spot and into markets where we don’t have the same name recognition,” says Levin, the law firm’s managing partner. “It’s important to be very decisive, but at the same time, you’re not going to get anywhere if you’re not a very good consensus builder within the partnership.”
Getting everyone to step out of their comfort zone and see the benefits of continuing to grow the firm would require a comprehensive approach. Levin had to sell the plan to everyone without appearing in any way to be shoving it down their throats.
“You lose your credibility if you don’t give the opposing views of people that may believe an expansion doesn’t make sense a chance to be heard,” Levin says.
He needed to create venues for feedback that would make it clear to everyone that their comments and opinions wouldn’t be a waste of their breath. He needed to make sure that this was conveyed not only to senior leaders but to everyone in what is now a firm made up of 940 attorneys and staff.
“It’s just respecting that people look at things differently,” Levin says.
