To Take a File or Not Take a File
Tana Christianson, Director of Insurance, Law Society of Manitoba
Republished with permission. Originally published in Communique, March 2024
Before Samuel Teichroew went to law school, he met with Barney Christianson to talk about rural legal practice.
Samuel is now an associate with Smith Neufeld Jodoin LLP. He says that a few of the things Barney told him have stuck with him, including. Barney’s “2 out of 3” rule.
What is Barney’s 2 out of 3 rule? When determining if you should take a file or not, you need to make sure you have two of the following:
You like the money.
You like the client.
You like the work.
If you don’t have at least two, the file will linger because you’re going to hate working on it.
Samuel says he recently had a file that he didn’t like and he realized he didn’t follow the 2 out of 3 rule. That inspired him to make the attached graphic. You might find it useful.
Samuel Teichroew is a lawyer at Smith Neufeld Jodoin LLP.
Barney Christianson is the Law Society of Manitoba’s Practice Management Advisor.