Peeler Discusses AFS Fellows Program and Leadership Development With Law360

Scott drew on his own experience in a four-year leadership development fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when creating the AFS Fellows Program.

“I started as a fourth-year associate, and had an amazing experience at a firm that I loved then and I love now,” he said. “But I began to realize, ‘Hey, the things that I learned all those years ago are missing from the practice of law.’”

The program incorporates tools including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and 360-degree reviews, as well as first- and second-year retreats and a third-year project focused on addressing an issue facing the firm. 

Scott said, that discovering that he’s an “off the charts ‘E’” personality type helped prevent him from inadvertently undervaluing the more introverted attorneys who prefer to process ideas internally first. Scott emphasized that 360 reviews should be done more in law.

The program has also produced measurable results for the firm. Today, 1 in 5 ArentFox Schiff attorneys are currently in or have graduated from the program, and fellows collected more than $40 million in revenue last year. After 10 years, 80% of fellows remain at the firm. 

Scott highlighted that one class came up with an idea that instead of evaluating billings in 100-hour increments, ArentFox Schiff should lower the threshold to 50, arguing that would cause lawyers to push harder to get to the next level. The firm tried it, and the Fellows were right.

Scott said the program remains his passion. “Really what I’m doing is, I’m creating a family dynamic within the profession of law, … and I get to be at the center of it,” he said. “You’re looking at the luckiest man who ever lived.” 

Several AFS Fellows shared how the AFS Fellows Program has shaped their careers and personal lives. 

Senior Associate Megan Woodward called it an all-encompassing experience that made her see work and other relationships in a different way. “We made those connections that will be good for business, but are also just good for our growth as decent human beings,” Megan said. “And especially in this day and age, I think that that’s something that is desperately needed.” 

Associate Steven Sung Soo Yoon said he enjoyed the fellows program because he got to work on skills that don’t get much attention in BigLaw. “Most of our training is about doing the legal work well,” Steven said. “However, the fellows program spent real time on the people side of the job, like leading a team and figuring out how to work with people whose personalities and styles are different from mine.” 

Steven said the idea that resonated most with him was the program’s motto of “leading from where you are,” noting that younger lawyers often assume that leadership comes later, that it is something you grow into once you have a big title or a big book of business. 

“The program challenged that assumption right on its head,” Steven said. “It empowered us to see that there is no better time to start than now. We don’t have to wait to become rainmakers to have a real impact on our teams, our clients and the firm.” 

Senior Associate Shoshana Golden said she’s grateful to the program for giving her the chance to develop meaningful connections with colleagues from other offices and practice groups whom she never would have met otherwise. Shoshana said that while the primary mission of the fellows program is to learn to be a good leader, what she’s actually learned is how to be a better, more thoughtful human. “And I think that this, ultimately, is the foundation of leadership itself,” she said. 

Read the full article here. (Subscription required)