<p>What makes a good/great attorney as opposed to a mediocre/average attorney? I asked a highly regarded partner in my town this same question and he told me, Great lawyers volunteer to give back to the community. </p>
<p>That was all he said. I was a little shocked by his answer. What do you all think?</p>
<p>THe highly regarded partner in your town said nothing profound as pretty much every lawyer has to volunteer their time and talents in giving back to the community. Some attorneys make a career out of giving back to the community in terms of doing public service work. If you work for a firm, you have to do so many pro bono hours. As a member of the bar, you have to do pro bono hours and give back to the community.</p>
<p>In NYS beginning in January 2013, a new rule affecting bar admission in New York will be in effect. All candidates seeking admission after January 1, 2015, with the exception of admission on motion candidates, will need to file documentation showing that they have completed 50 hours of qualifying pro bono work, as required by Rule 520.16 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals.</p>
<p>I’d be shocked too since the answer was nonresponsive to the question posed.</p>
<p>One answer is a $2,000,000 book of business.</p>
<p>Meaning that you have a client or clients who are willing to pay $2,000,000 per year, every year.</p>
<p>This will allow you to be an equity partner and remain employed throughout your career as opposed to being thrown onto the lawyer scrapheap.</p>
<p>I don’t even know what a “good/great” attorney even means these days.</p>
<p>I guess it is truly difficult to pin down the definition of a good/great attorney, something that differs from person to person. I guess if an attorney were great, the money would be there, but that probably wouldn’t be the soul of that attorney’s work. I think the same thing that makes a great attorney is what makes a great person in general, most of whom typical have money following them.</p>