Monday Mentors with Austin Subrogation Lawyer Kevin Mosley

Kevin Mosley of Grotefeld Hoffmann in Austin joins us on on today's show. Kevin talks about building relationships, being proactive and not being afraid of interview silence.

COVID-19 Update

• Everyone is remote/virtual
• Each office has a weekly video call each Friday to talk about COVID impact and timelines to reopen
• Firm has great leadership and follows the science/safety
• His subrogation practice has slowed the progress of cases with depos/hearings put off (though there have been some virtual depos)
• Many of their clients already work from home, so they get it
• Hopes old school mentalities of you aren't working if you aren't in your office chair will go away as this season has proven you can be productive from home
• Expects there will be more humanity in the legal profession as this has made lots of people re-prioritize what is important

His firm and practice

• Primarily insurance subrogation
  • some coverage and defense
• Seven offices around the nation; headquarters in is Chicago
• Much of the work is wildfire litigation
  • California a big driver of this
  • Texas too (Bastrop / Spicewood)
    • Birthed the Austin office of their firm
• Lots of autonomy with the offices but they do work together quite a bit

Advice for lawyers in practice

• Communication and relationships are key, especially with clients and opposing counsel
  • take an interest in people and their point of view
  • don't always have to be adversarial
• Slow down; rely on others; don't think that you know everything
• Be willing/able to take the next step / be proactive
  • If the answer to a question requires something else, do that something else without waiting for an assignment
  • Ask for more and speak up / measured deference
  • (Daniel's Linkedin post re: anticipation for the next project and seeing the bigger picture)
  • The firm has hired law clerks that have shown this specific skill into full-time positions

Advice for lawyers seeking a job

• Make your application documents polished and consistent
  • Their firm is misspelled in lots of cover letters
  • The firm will assume you will put the same amount of care into work product
• In interviews:
  • make good eye contact; matters for depos/court appearance
    • shows respect
  • Don't anticipate questions and start talking before the question is finished
    • take a moment to think about the question
    • Shows preparedness and that they are measured
    • Also consider ending an answer by asking a question back to the interviewer (e.g. "how do you approach that?"); can create a more conversational interview and demonstrate interest
  • You don't have to be certain of what you want to do; in fact it can sometimes come across as disingenuous if you don't have experience in something (you may THINK you have interest...)
• If you are struggling in the job market, seek out someone who dealt with the last tough market ('09-'10) for advice and encouragement

Rapid Fire Questions

• Most important trait/characteristic in an associate: humility
• What habit has been key to your success: relationships and communication
• Favorite app/productivity tool: Google Docs; time to decompress (play Wordscapes)
• Favorite social distancing activity: Peloton/working out
• Favorite legal movie: The Lincoln Lawyer

Thanks again to Kevin Mosley for coming on the show!