Coming out of COVID, law firms are redefining themselves and adapting new models of operations. At McGlinchey, we fine-tuned our operations under an initiative called #McGlincheyForward. And part of that effort is focused on the office-level culture of our firm. In this episode, Managing Member of the New Orleans Office, Mag Bickford, and Managing Member of the Baton Rouge Office, Zelma Murray Frederick, discuss successes, challenges, and plans for continued growth in the McGlinchey offices in Louisiana.

Mag Bickford: So, three years ago, I was asked to take the role of Office Managing Member. It was a time when we had several empty offices and a more traditional law firm model in place. At that point in time, I recognized that the basic change in our office that was required in order to grow and fill those offices was a cultural change in terms of being involved, operating and functioning in an office that was productive, and essentially, a place where people liked each other and wanted to practice together at all levels.

So, in order to do that, I came up with a plan to get people more involved, to make them owners of the law firm at every level, and to make them want to spread the word that McGlinchey truly is the best place to practice law. So we came up with that plan, and off we went.

Zelma, tell us your story as Office Managing Member in Baton Rouge.

Zelma Frederick: Thanks, Mag. I am coming up on the first year of being in this role as Managing Member of the Baton Rouge office, give or take a few months. My story is like yours. We had a change in leadership here in Baton Rouge. I was approached to take the helm, which I was very hesitant to do. But, part of what was attractive to me about the job was, working with you as a co-part, and following in your footsteps to try to remind people of what they love about working at the firm and enhancing that. You had paved a great way for everyone in the office to participate in events and generally knowing each other.

And then also I thought together we could, and I think we have, made that 60 miles between New Orleans and Baton Rouge or 45 miles, whatever it is, a lot shorter. And try to make us, not the same office because we’re different, but make us more cohesive and have a cohesive Louisiana presence. So, a lot of my job was made easier because you’ve already done a lot of the hard work and paving the way. But I think together, we’ve been able to advance some common goals for our two biggest offices, New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

You had paved a great way for everyone in the office to participate in events and generally knowing each other. Also I thought together we could, and I think we have, made that 60 miles between New Orleans and Baton Rouge a lot shorter. And try to make us, not the same office because we’re different, but make us more cohesive and have a cohesive Louisiana presence.

Mag Bickford: Well, thank you, Zelma. Those are some very nice things to say, and I really appreciate it. I think the firm has helped our role too. We’ve had a lot of initiatives in terms of a plan called #McGlincheyForward that has enabled us to develop our models for growth. And that came along in the past three years as well.

So, for example, we earned our Mansfield Certification for our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, which I think was part of the foundation of two women being appointed in our offices and other offices in the firm. There’s been a huge focus on, not just diversity but that equity and inclusion piece, that has worked well with the firm, and it’s not just the Mansfield Certification. It’s with programs like the Ministry of Fun, one of my own personal favorites, where we have a dedicated team who wants to help this be the best place to work too. And we’ve also made efforts to restructure our associate program. I think associates certainly in our offices and throughout the firm are engaged and involved, and they’re part of the succession and growth model, and that helps a lot.

And let’s face it: as lawyers, we work collaboratively for the most part. To be collaborative, you’ve got to have a sense of trust, liking, and friendship, just like our clients want to have with us.

We’ve had a lot of growth, particularly in the New Orleans office with various sections. My own Labor and Employment Section has recently doubled in size, and most of that growth is in New Orleans, with some in Baton Rouge. I think the most important thing is that people are smiling as they walk down the hall and want to say hello to each other and engage.

We also helped with the things that make life easier for the people that work here in terms of increased benefits levels and benefits coverage. We have a student loan repayment plan that the firm contributes to. We’ve increased coverage on our medical benefits. And all in all, I think these things have all come together to make for a wonderful platform for growth, which you and I have worked hard to leverage and also give us a foundation of inclusion in our offices.

And let’s face it: as lawyers, we work collaboratively for the most part. To be collaborative, you’ve got to have a sense of trust, liking, and friendship, just like our clients want to have with us. So, all of these efforts have gone quite far in enabling the success of our platforms. And I think they are working throughout the firm, quite honestly, and to that level as well.

Zelma Frederick: I do, too. Across the firm, I agree. Although COVID had a lot of negative impacts, our firm Managing Member, Michael Ferachi, was able to strike and make the most out of that. We pivoted really well, where all those offices are connected more through #McGlincheyForward. I think these programs and initiatives have been really successful. I also think we talk about a lot of diversity and inclusion, and it’s also that sense of belonging, and wanting to belong, that I think has been successful.

It is more of that sense of belonging. We all bring something to the table, and it makes that pride for the firm a lot stronger. I see people in the Baton Rouge office who want to wear their McGlinchey hat or their McGlinchey shirt everywhere… because they’re proud of where they work.

I’ve said in interviews before that our office, and I would say this for the New Orleans office as well: you have that sense of collegiate pride. And one thing that’s shifted over the last years is, less of a difference between the value that we put on, and the events that we put on, and the things that we do for our attorneys versus our professional staff. It is more of that sense of belonging. We all bring something to the table, and it makes that pride for the firm a lot stronger. We joke a lot about swag. The McGlinchey swag game is so strong, but it’s not fake. I mean, I see people in the Baton Rouge office who want to wear their McGlinchey hat or their McGlinchey shirt everywhere. They’re asking for more things, not because they want free things, but because they’re proud of where they work. And they want people to know that they work here. That is such a positive thing to see, and to want to know what your colleagues are doing on the weekend, or want to see where they’re going and what they’re doing. And it makes it a lot easier, because we all know we spend a lot of time at the office and working. So it might as well be fun.

Mag Bickford: Not only are we encouraging them to be friends in the office, but we’re also encouraging them and their families to be part of the McGlinchey family. We really do appreciate the efforts that our personal families make to support us here at McGlinchey, too.

Zelma Frederick: It’s such a nice thing for a spouse or a friend or significant other when you invite them to a work event and them to come back with an excited “yes,” versus, “okay, we’re only going for 15 minutes, and then we’re out.” You know?

Mag Bickford: I do know.

Zelma Frederick: The Baton Rouge and New Orleans office hosted a tailgate for the LSU-Auburn game in the fall. It was the first time we’d done that in my 15-year history that we’ve done that, we’ll say the first that we know of. And it was a blast! And it was a blast because we have people that are amazing that want to come and hang out and want to get to know my kids and want to get to know my husband. I want to get to know so-and-so’s fiancé, you know? It’s just one of those things whether you can stop by for five minutes or you spend all day, that’s not in our employee manual somewhere.

That didn’t just happen. That’s something that has been fostered, and we’re seeing the results of some planning by you and some intentional steps. And then again, piggybacking off that and saying, it’s working great there. Thankfully, our personalities are well suited for each other, and we look at leadership the same way. Because, let’s just be real, managing is not great fun sometimes. It’s a lot of personalities, and it can sometimes be like pushing spaghetti uphill while you’re practicing law. So it can be, that’s the negative side of it. It can be a challenge, but that’s reality. Right?

The benefits are so overwhelming that it’s worth the extra time that doesn’t go on your billable sheet. It’s worth getting to know your employees, really taking the time during the day to get to know them, so that you want to go hang out.

And the two of us, what we share is that we look at it as having some challenges, but the benefits are so overwhelming that it’s worth the extra time that doesn’t go on your billable sheet. It’s worth getting to know your employees, really taking the time during the day to get to know them so that you want to go hang out at the LSU game, or you want to go to the Saints game, or you want to go to the Celebration in the Oaks.

Or when you’re walking down the hall, you’re going to notice if Associate A is not herself, so that you can intercept a problem so that we can get back to what we’re all here for: best serving our clients, being our best selves as attorneys. If you don’t know your people, you are probably not going to notice that. We also have other people in those roles as practice group leaders; Mag wears a double hat for that. But in our roles, that’s also something that we bring to the table that hopefully continues to pay off, so that we can keep adding great attorneys that have the same view of what the practice of law is all about and want to come hang out with us and maybe, you know, work a little bit too.

I think our clients see this, the love and family environment that we have here at McGlinchey. I think that helps them feel more confident in their representation and advocacy because they feel part of the McGlinchey family. You know, family takes care of family.

Mag Bickford: That’s true. And you know, I think our clients see this, the love and family environment that we have here at McGlinchey. I think that helps them feel more confident in their representation and advocacy because they feel part of the McGlinchey family. You know, family takes care of family. I saw that particularly at the tailgate event in Baton Rouge that you hosted so beautifully, and let’s just say Go Tigers.

Zelma Frederick: One thing you mentioned, Mag, is that in New Orleans, y’all had some empty offices, and you’ve been able to fill them. In our Baton Rouge space, we’re on multiple floors right now, and we’ve kind of condensed that a little bit so far. But we are actually trying to push forward, and we will be moving into a new space, a totally new space, which is exciting and a little scary, because we’ll be on one floor. But I think it’s more exciting because we’re going to see each other more and interact more. That’ll cause those serendipitous moments of, “Hey, have you done this?” “Oh, how are you, what do you think about this,” kind of thing. And further build that, what would you call it? A hive structure of business versus everybody going to their own office and doing their work and going home. So that’s exciting for the Baton Rouge office.

We’ll be on one floor. It’s more exciting because we’re going to see each other more and interact more. That’ll cause those serendipitous moments of, “Hey, have you done this?” “Oh, how are you, what do you think about this,” kind of thing. And further build that hive structure of business, versus everybody going to their own office and doing their work and going home.

Mag Bickford: Having everybody on one floor is going to be really exciting. And yeah, it’s a little bit noisier, and it’s a little bit more tumultuous. But you know, there’s energy that comes from that that I think you are really going to thrive on. So I’ve got the opposite problem: now that I’ve filled all the offices on our floor, where are we going from here? But we’ll see how that shakes out when we get more people.

Zelma Frederick: It’s a good problem to have. I cannot wait to have the same; we will hopefully attract many more bees to our hive.

I think the other person who fits into that as our overall Managing Member comes from a place of “yes” more so than a place of “no.” Which is so great. So when we come in and say, we were thinking this or what about this? It’s not immediate, well, we haven’t done that before, and so we’re not going to do it. That’s not the reception that I get when we talk about that. And he’s here in Baton Rouge with me, so he’s right down the hall, but I know he’s equally as available to you, Mag. And really, we’re very fortunate that he makes himself equally available to all of our Managing Members, whether they’re across the country or two doors down the hall.

Mag Bickford: Absolutely. And we’re talking about Michael Ferachi, who has been a gift to work with for the past three years for me. I can vouch for that.

Zelma Frederick: Yes, and he is one of the best litigators I’ve ever seen in action. So, on a professional level, too, he is the bomb basically in court.

Mag Bickford: We’re fortunate to have him, that’s for sure, and without him, we wouldn’t have the growth and the cultural development we currently have. So kudos to Michael for being the world’s best Managing Member of a lovely and productive law firm.

Zelma Frederick: So, Mag, we’ve talked a little bit about what you’ve done and the support and the embodiment of #McGlincheyForward. Why don’t you tell us examples of how you’ve capitalized on that and stretched some of our practice groups and new attorneys in your office?

Mag Bickford: Well, it was the perfect storm for us. We had significant needs in practice groups. Because of things such as hurricane litigation and the post-COVID labor and employment world, we recognize the need to grow the particular sections or the practice groups as we call them. That translated into a need, but as we all know, you need a wonderful place to work, particularly in this post-COVID, Gen Z world, to recruit people by having that need and marrying it. I have a lovely little sign in my office from the famous Dr. Bob that says, be nice or leave, right? But unless you marry the need and the positive culture, it’s almost impossible to recruit and retain people here.

I have a lovely little sign in my office from the famous Dr. Bob that says, “be nice or leave,” right? Because unless you marry the need and the positive culture, it’s almost impossible to recruit and retain people here.

Changing that culture took a little while; it was probably a year before we started to see a difference in the culture in the office. We leveraged those two opportunities, and we started recruiting heavily. Our firm has a very nice and generous recruiting policy that rewards people who refer people in and stay for a certain length of time. So we put that on top of that scenario, and suddenly, people wanted to work here.

One of the challenges was getting the word out. How do you get the word out that this is such a fabulous place? You can tell people that in an interview, and they see it, but it’s still got to be the reputation in the local environment. I know you and I are both super involved in our local communities and in different organizations that allowed us to promote McGlinchey and the wonderful things it’s doing. And kudos to our marketing team for providing that wonderful swag. It helps when you wear your McGlinchey hat to the pool or your coat to Celebration in the Oaks. That’s another way to get that out there. And then, I made every effort to try and interview our prospective candidates because I wanted to spread the McGlinchey love to them. And so it’s this multi-tiered approach to hiring and retention that allowed for this growth. And it’s produced quite a number of successful team members.

Most recently, I added someone I used to work with at a former law firm that I’m thrilled to have here as part of the team. And in addition to that, we’ve had what we lovingly call boomerangs rejoin us. So we’ve had a legal assistant join us who used to work with us in the past, who’s a superstar. We’ve had a partner return to us about a year and a half ago. That made me so excited because we’ve always worked so well together and are good friends. And last but not least, my former associate, who worked with me at another law firm, who was the reason I came to McGlinchey because she recruited me here, I just got her back. So to me, that’s a homecoming to be celebrated. The grass is not always greener somewhere else. But we’ve got some awfully green grass here at McGlinchey.

We are an inclusive place. We value them all, and we find the best possible mechanisms for them to participate and be fulfilled and professionally and personally developed regardless of their position.

Zelma Frederick: Yes, absolutely. We are happy to have a boomerang in Baton Rouge that recently returned to us as well. She is a senior attorney who first worked in one practice group and then went and spread her wings into another practice group and saw an opportunity with one of our job openings here in Baton Rouge and was like, oh yeah, why don’t I come back? I love y’all. I’ve just changed what I’m doing, which is fabulous. Glad to have her back. And then we’ve also been fortunate to add another senior-level partner to our Baton Rouge office who’s in your group, Mag, who adds to our positive energy, brings the fun into the office, and has fit right in, like, he’s been here for 15 years, which is amazing. We’re excited to have some positive growth here in our office.

As I look forward, I’m hoping that we can keep that trajectory and, maybe, again, follow in your footsteps and keep pushing up, keep filling those offices and expanding our practice groups, having a more diverse base for our clients, which is why we’re here. But also just having more folks here because we’re all in this boat, and when the boat rises, we all rise. So, we all want more people to help us achieve that goal.

Mag Bickford: And we accomplish it daily. So it’s very, very, very exciting.

Zelma Frederick: So, what are y’all looking toward next year in New Orleans?

Mag Bickford: Well, we are out of office space, as I mentioned before. So now we have to figure that out. We’re going to continue our growth models. We certainly are looking for more in the sections housed here in the New Orleans office. So that means we’re going to have to go to another floor. In our building, we’ve got the opposite problem now. If we have to go to a multiple-flour scenario, how do we keep everybody engaged? So that’s my focus: how to keep everybody engaged if we’re not in the beehive directly. So I’ll stay tuned for those details, but it’s a wonderful problem to have. That much I know.

It’s smart growth, right? It’s not growth for growth’s sake. So, it will be less of an issue than in the past because everybody loves the unity and hive atmosphere. So even if you have to bump out to another floor, you won’t lose that magic.

Zelma Frederick: It is, and I think now that you’ve got such cohesion, it will probably be smart growth, right? It’s not growth for growth’s sake. So, it will be less of an issue than in the past because everybody loves the unity and hive atmosphere. So even if you have to bump out to another floor, you won’t lose that magic.

Mag Bickford: I hope so. Well, we’ll see. There’s a lot of magic sprinkled in these hallways, so hopefully, it will help us in that transition.

Zelma Frederick: Well, Mag, thanks for taking the time out of what I know is a busy day to chat all things managing members with me. As always, it’s been an awesome discussion, and I am grateful to steal some of your time. I’m also grateful that our firm will continue to move forward under #McGlincheyForward for another three years. And I’m hopeful that we’ll be here next year reminiscing about this and talking about our further growth and success.

Mag Bickford: Well, thank you, Zelma. It always gives me such great positive energy when you and I can talk. So, this has been a great day for me. Thanks for the opportunity.