Button Law Firm October 2019

WHAT MAKES THIS TEAM SO GREAT REFLECTING ON 2 YEARS HERE

When I joined The Button Law Firm two years ago, I already knew Russell as the passionate, hard-working, exceptional attorney he is. It was wonderful to find out that everyone Russell brings to The Button Law Firm is on this wavelength. Our team makes this an extraordinary place to be. Reflecting on my two years at the firm, here are three of the reasons I love working with this group of people. 1. IT’S THE SHARED MOMENTS. My favorite part of what we do is preparing our clients for their deposition because I really get to know them as individuals. Our team puts countless hours into preparing our clients for their cases. Oftentimes, we have to go back to the drawing board and make a new plan. No matter how we get there, the goal is always the same: giving our client closure. Every deposition prep reminds me of how much we all have in common as people, no matter what path we’ve been on. 2. WE PARTNER WITH INCREDIBLE PEOPLE (TURNED FRIENDS). We get to work with the most amazing lawyers. We surround ourselves with like-minded, hard-working, passionate people. We co-counsel with several lawyers who bring new ideas and approaches. For me, this has also provided lasting friendships. Toby Cole, Scott Snellings, and Heather Long are three of these lawyers turned friends. Toby works out of Houston and is one of the best souls I know. Scott works out of Frisco and is one of the kindest, most hard-working people I know. Heather is the trial lawyer that every woman hopes to be. Through late nights working on cases, group and family dinners, and some of the toughest times in my life, What does it mean to be a leader? I’ve given this question a lot of thought over the last few years. Leading a team means providing clear direction and constantly giving feedback. A true leader takes ownership of everything. When something goes wrong, it’s on you. Could you sit down and blame someone else? Sure, but it’s not going to help your team, your business, or yourself. The finger of blame should always point back to the top. If someone didn’t do a good job on a project, it’s my job to evaluate how I didn’t set them up for success. Did I not supervise them well enough, or are they not the right person for that project? What It Means to Be a Leader TAKING OWNERSHIP

these friends have been there for me. I am so thankful that I have been able to get to know lawyers like Toby, Scott, and Heather.

3. WE’RE HERE FOR EACH OTHER — THROUGH IT ALL. Finally, our team is here for each other through the good, the bad, and the really bad. I lost my dad unexpectedly on Aug. 7. This past month has been the absolute hardest of my life. Russell and our team have picked up the slack to give me the time I needed to take care of my family’s needs. Every person in our office had their workload doubled because I had to be out. No one thought twice about it, and I received constant calls and messages checking in on me and my family. Our firm is so much more than just a law firm or an office. We are a team and a family, and we show up for each other, no questions asked.

I love my job and my team, and I’m grateful for all the little steps along the way that led me here.

–Ashley

Being a leader is also about giving your team the tools they need to succeed. It starts with taking ownership of what you do so you can translate that to what your team does. Clear direction means thinking through every part of a project well. That way, when you pass it off to someone else, it’s not just jumbled thoughts. It’s my job to define the parameters and organize a project in such a way that someone else can easily make sense of it. At our firm, for example, I’ve been working on revamping our marketing program. For a while, it was more idea-based, and I gave it to my team to run with. However, on a systematic level, it wasn’t as smooth as I wanted it to be. I realized I hadn’t given them clear parameters for success. So, I jumped back in and created a platform for our projects. I’m going to run it how I run everything else: with clear direction and the tools in place to let my team succeed and make the best choices for each project. When you have the right team in place, you’re able to focus on the parts of your business you’re best at. Once you’ve given them clear direction and taken complete ownership of each success and failure, it’s a lot easier to make every decision. Things begin to flow, and you can fully accept the joys and responsibilities of being a leader.

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