EPISODE #2.8: The Heart of Law with Andrew Finkelstein
Aptly called by Mirena “a visionary”, Andrew Finkelstein, a pioneer in integrating technology into his law firms in the mid-1990s, shares his trade secrets in The Heart of Law. At the inexperienced age of 22, Andrew first felt ambivalence toward acquiring an MBA or pursuing a law degree. Yet a chance encounter with business mogul Larry Tisch (CBS, Tisch Company, CEO of the New York Giants) at a wedding gave him all the guidance he needed. So with the heart of an entrepreneur, Andrew set off to become a lawyer. Despite not having any plans to join his father’s firm, he subsequently found himself helping run the family practice. With Finkelstein & Partners, thriving since 1959 (founded by his father, Howard S. Finkelstein), he acquired a deep quarry of knowledge and tradition passed down from six generations. Equipped with rare business acumen, Andrew shares sage insight into running a firm effectively. He tells Mirena a business strategy where “centrally conducted operations ensure optimal quality control,” attributing this efficiency to his decision of having ”a 100% paperless firm by 1995 … I viewed what we do as a pure service industry grounded in technology—a technology firm that happens to practice law.” Long before savoir-faire CRMs came into play, their firm established systematic transfer of documents, uninhibited communications, a stable workforce, and functional operations. Ergo, their efficiency generated the attention of other firms who, in turn, partnered with Andrew and his team.
One valuable method used in his practice is how meticulously they acquire and disseminate information. He breaks it down to “two very big buckets,” keeping two defined questions and methodologies in mind: (1) “Who do we gather information from?” and (2) “Who do we have to deliver it to?” Once they’ve found the best information source, Andrew says they reformat the material, build a straightforward process to streamline the data, then efficiently deliver it to those who specifically need it. A second design lending to the sophistication of their operation rests within the stability of a clearly defined workflow: “We limit the tasks that people are required to do … we have a very streamlined business where people have clear, identifiable responsibilities … they become experts [where] they don’t get distracted from doing what their core competencies are … We’ll look at somebody’s job and see how I can break it down so that they are hyper-specialized.” So when he talks about having his eye on “the big picture” and delegating to specialists, we now have a small window to the workings of a well-oiled, progressive, stalwart legal organization. Too simplistic? Not quite. It takes all the discipline and patience in the world to manage and maintain this functionality one decade after the next.
As Mirena and Andrew huddle over the nuances of the legal industry, insurance companies, the justice system, and some cases, they also discuss Andrew’s remarkable book, I Hope We Never Meet. Ultimately, the unique challenge of balancing family and career comes up. With three children and a supportive wife, Andrew pleasantly (yet wisely) remarks, “It’s very simple. I don’t call and say I’m coming home until I’m in the car.” Even as Mirena calls Andrew “intuitive, thoughtful, and reflective,” onscreen he remains unpretentious, practical, and humble to a tee (and gives a lot of credit to his wife). Through it all, we realize we’ve just met an unassuming—yet incredibly successful—lawyer who just happens to be a solid family man through and through.
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