The thing about legal is that they are misunderstood. As marketers we have great ideas but our stalemate always seems to be the “mean, short-tempered” attorney. Sitting in a meeting the other day with several other people and our lawyer I began to think about why this is…
“As our attorney began to read the legal copy (at light speed I might add, and these sessions are called “poetryreadings,” ironic) everyone else in the room is busily scanning their copy and writing down the changes that she had. Every now and then someone would have a question or a clarification that needed to be addressed, and all eyes would shift from the paper into the eyes of the Legal Maven sitting before us. She typically wouldn’t budge on any point, despite the convincing nature of many of the argu-
Legal Readings are far from Poetry Readings
ments. A joke would crack, we would all laugh and even the attorney would smile. ‘Did you think my edits were optional,’ harped our attorney half way through. ‘Don’t take this personally,’ she said. This fazed no one and we moved on…”
Was our attorney just being difficult or is there a method to her maddens, I’m inclined to think it is a little bit of both. But why then is it always the case that dealing with the Legal Team is the most tiring and challenging part of any project. I can recall bringing new print ads and TV scripts to a lawyer and having the humor stripped away leaving a glorified public service announcement.
The attorney doesn’t always understand why we need to use simple language or use funny punch-lines in a great script. Likewise the marketer wants to appeal to the customer and forgets about the risks we may pose to the brand. The more I interact with people in the corporate world the more I am starting to see a reason for the disagreements and disgruntlement.
It all boils down to point of view and priorities. We often forget that we are not the only folks working for the company. I will admit to getting caught up in my own passion and opinions that I forget to consider the view points of my co-workers. It’s hard to remember especially when your performance is graded on a bell cure and your only incentive for cooperation is so that you perform above your peers. At the end of the day we all want the same thing; to be profitable, customer friendly and memorable. How we achieve these goals is very different depending on the group we represent and what we personally believe in.
Next time you are sitting in a room and everyone seems to be only after what is best for them, remember that they are. Legal wants to mitigate risk, marketing wants to engage customers and production wants to reduce waste. Each is a valid priority, but in a fight whose will win out? No one wins out because priorities aren’t in sync. So what’s the point…?
Spend the time at the start of a project and align all team members’ priorities. Hash them out openly and honestly up front instead of wasting the aggravation of disagreement in the long run. The synergy of your team will be essential to meeting tough deadlines and following through. Remember:
Together Everyone Achieves More
