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.
- Re: internal client development
- 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