Monday Mentors with Fort Worth Oil and Gas Litigator Troy Okruhlik

Troy Okruhlik of the Fort Worth law firm Harris, Finley & Bogle shares some keys to client development, what to emphasize in a job interview, and the evolving oil and gas law practice.

• Intro to Troy and his firm
  • Grew up in Houston, Texas A&M undergrad, Baylor Law, went to Harris Finley Bogle immediately
  • 35 attorneys
  • Big focus on oil/gas industry (litigation, transactions, title, leases, real estate, banking)
  • New office in Parker County (Weatherford, TX) which also takes on some criminal and personal injury matters.

• Oil/Gas Practice
  • prices aren't great, but doesn't seem to impact the litigation side as much as the transactional side
  • helps to be licensed in multiple states to accommodate clients with properties all over the country (in fact only 20% of his practice is in Tarrant County, much less than in the past)
• Fort Worth
  • Loves everything about it
  • Downtown is booming
  • Stockshow and Rodeo
  • Stockyards
  • 13th largest population in the nation (bigger than Boston/Seattle/Denver)
  • Has the big city amenities but small town feel
  • The legal community is close-knit;
    • you'll see someone nearly every time you walk through downtown
    • If the other side is represented by a Fort Worth law firm, you'll probably know them and have a relationship with them, which can help and make the practice more enjoyable
  • Dallas/Fort Worth might sometimes get lumped together, but they are very different.
    • It's important if you are applying to Fort Worth law firms to articulate why you want to be in Fort Worth.
• Advice for young lawyers
  • Re: internal client development
    • treat senior associates and partners as your client.
    • Develop the relationship.
    • Learn about their cases.
    • Be eager to help
  • Re: outside client development
    • get involved in the community
    • build relationships
    • have a long-term outlook (associates aren't expected to keep themselves busy in the early years, but it starts now)
    • Not forced involvement - pick something you're interested in and get involved...raise your hand.
  • Know your law school classmates and stay in touch with them.
    • they can be a great source of referrals and assistance in your practice
  • Be proactive and think ahead
    • Don't just do the task that is assigned, look for other ways to help and anticipate what's needed next
    • Follow up
  • Read everything and know the documents and the case law, because the partner probably won't have time to do that. It might raise an issue or a strategy.
• When job searching/interviewing
  • Grades can matter, so highlight the good and be ready to explain or mitigate the bad
  • Engagement is important
  • Enjoyable to work with
  • Desire for the long-term
  • Be yourself and want to contribute to the team
  • Prepare ahead of time to answer questions as to why you want the job...THIS IS NOT ASSUMED BY THE INTERVIEWER!
• Work/Life Balance
  • Schedule flexibility is an underrated benefit of being a lawyer...take advantage of it!
• Rapid Fire Questions
  • Character/Trait in an associate - work ethic and concern for end work product
  • Key habit - get done the hard thing first
  • Favorite app/tool - transcriptpad and goodreader on ipad; also iphonejd.com is a great resource
  • Legal movie - A Few Good Men