This is how to handle the death of a lawyer or employee.
I think the true character of a law firm can be judged by how it responds to the death of its people.
A few years ago, there was a lot of media attention regarding the tragic death of a prominent Chicago lawyer in an international firm, the chair of an important practice group; suicide was a possibility. A couple of weeks after his passing, I looked him up on the law firm’s website and learned that his biography had been removed. There was no mention of him anywhere on the website.
He’d disappeared. Vanished. The only lingering traces were in a few tiny mentions in the News section where he’d been quoted in press releases. He had become an Orwellian “Unperson.”
He’d been erased.
Shame on the firm. He deserved better.
Below is an update of a previous blog post where we discussed the tragic 2008 death of one of the leaders of the Louisville, KY legal community, and Fishman Marketing’s favorite client ever, Marc Yussman.
Marc was charming, fun, dynamic, and generous — a brilliant Goldberg Simpson lawyer, a savvy businessman, and most importantly, an absolutely terrific guy. He’d pick me up at the airport at 9:00 am with a couple of short, fat Nub cigars that we’d smoke while barreling to the firm in his Porsche, laughing all the way.
Marc died suddenly at just 50 years old, sending the firm reeling. We needed to respond quickly and appropriately.
For starters, here’s the obituary we posted to the website and ran in the local papers.
We tried to capture his personality and spirit; we wanted to tell the story of the man, not the technician.
We also dedicated our strategy and branding book to Marc:
Here’s what we recommend when one of your people dies:
Work with the deceased’s family to draft a prominent obituary for the professional-announcement section of the local legal paper. Run it once or twice in weekly or monthly local and industry publications, and perhaps five times in the dailies.
It should include a warm, smiling, informal photograph (not the firm’s stiff headshot). The text should help us see their human side, not just the technical details of their practice. It should look professionally designed.
Other ideas include:
- Also submit the obituary to their college, law school, and hometown papers
- Publish it on the firm’s blog
- Post it to LinkedIn and the firm’s other social media pages
- Post a sensitive personal obituary on the firm’s home page that focuses on the person, not the lawyer
- Here’s Arnall Golden Gregory’s delicate treatment. A nice one from Kutack Rock is at the bottom as well:
- Promptly hold an internal meeting, to inform everyone, provide any necessary details about the funeral or services, and discuss the future
- Consider offering in-house grief counseling
- Determine how ongoing client work will be handled
- Inform their clients personally. Be prepared for the call; understand the nature and extent of their relationship
- Consider inviting them to internal memorials
- Consider sending out an electronic or print announcement mailing to the firm’s database
- Put a nicely framed photo of her on a wall (but NOT in the kitchen)
- Replace their website biography with their personal story (don’t simply edit it to use past-tense verbs…)
- Name a conference room after her
- For example, Freeborn & Peters named the “Shabat Theater” after litigator Michael Shabat
- Set up a trust for a local charity that supports his/her interests and, if possible, the firm’s brand and core values
- Host a memorial gathering at the firm for friends, clients, and colleagues
- Encourage people to bring photos and memorabilia
- Tell their personal stories
- Videotape the speeches and stories for the family
- Consider hosting another gathering on the one-year anniversary
- For founders and name partners, consider temporarily redesigning the firm’s logo
- Description here, see Pessin Katz’s special “In Memoriam” logo below
- Create an internal award in their name honoring an attribute they valued (e.g. client service, technical proficiency, volunteering), e.g. Freeborn’s “Michael Shabat Award.”
- Create a permanent In Memoriam page on your website dedicated to the founders and leaders who helped build the firm. See the examples pasted below:
This sad occurrence can be a culture-building opportunity.
It’s a time to show your personnel that they matter, that you’re a family. Obviously, the above ideas also apply to the loss of a valued member of your professional staff.
You only have one chance to do this right. Your personnel, clients, legal community, and the family will notice and remember how you handled this. If the death is unexpected, it can be hard to think through these issues with a clear head. In that case, get outside help — these things matter.
For additional detail regarding HR and other issues, read SHRM’s valuable “Death of an Employee: Checklist.”
