In an article published by Law360 on Oct. 30, Managing Partner Jim Lehman discusses Nelson Mullins’ growth strategy and how he views integration, as well as his personal views on what qualities are important for a partner and what inspired him to become a lawyer.

Lehman shares how the firm has worked to integrate following its combination with Broad and Cassel in 2018. “It's been an intentional part of our strategy,” he states. “Integration is really hard work, and it requires a lot of time and effort. We view integration as a daily priority, something that affects all of our firm meetings, something that affects the way we approach building teams.”

According to Lehman, teamwork is an important trait for partners at the firm. “I would say the key to being a successful partner at Nelson Mullins in 2019 is the ability to work in a team to solve complex client problems. We're now helping clients at a scale where individual lawyers are not as important as the team of resources you can bring to a problem,” he explains. “And if we're going to solve complex problems, we're going to need to tackle those by relying on one another's expertise and contributing as a member of a broader team, instead of as an individual partner.”

Younger attorneys being impatient to become a great lawyer and getting ahead of themselves is a common mistake Lehman observes. “For example, it's really important for young lawyers to get trial experience. But I would rather a young lawyer get the right kind of trial experience in complex matters than to get trial experience that is not as helpful to their broader career,” he states. “Certain things only happen through engagement and over the course of time.”

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