Scarborough entertains, encourages working together
Law firm leaders from across the country and throughout the world gathered recently in San Francisco for the 17th annual Law Firm Leaders Forum. The forum discussed how global economics and politics are impacting the legal industry and the challenges firms are facing.
A highlight of the conference was keynote speaker Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and a former four-term Congressman. Scarborough brought a surprise guest, his co-host Mika Brzezinski, making the keynote an entertaining and educational bi-partisan conversation, with several laughs and light-hearted moments, discussing the political climate and the economy.
Scarborough talked about his time in office during the 1990s and how he did not like President Clinton, even going so far to tell a member of President Clinton’s staff as much. But Scarborough was told by that staff member not to worry, as President Clinton didn’t like him much either, bringing boisterous laughter from the audience. But Scarborough did mention that it is an unbelievable experience to be in the Oval Office and there is not a better home court advantage in the world, and one every president should use to their full advantage. (Scarborough and President Clinton now are friends and work together to promote select events and causes).
Scarborough went on to highlight that even though there were varying political views while he served, both sides worked together and accomplished great things: balancing the budget, economic growth and low unemployment. The challenges are similar today, but Scarborough said the two parties are polarized and refusing to work together, even though behind closed doors, they know they must work together.
Scarborough concluded the presentation discussing how he received high favorability ratings in the polls with seniors when cuts were going to have to be made to certain services affecting seniors such as Medicare. He said that is was nothing novel, “I told them the truth.”
He went on to say, echoing what many law firms are doing and a theme throughout the conference, that being transparent to his constituents and giving them the full story helped them understand the issues and why tough choices needed to be made.
As firms continue to manage through these challenging times, working across leadership teams and being transparent about how the firm is managed can help ensure long-term success and stability.
