I interviewed Robert (Bob) Darwell, a big name in entertainment law who has top studio executives around the world on speed dial, and was impressed by his focus on service. Service is at the core of how he built his practice, how he manages his team, and how his team represents his group in the marketplace.
“I liked to argue”
Darwell, like me, did not come from a family legacy of libraries filled with case law. However, while his parents had no preconceived ideas about what he would do when he grew up, his teachers certainly did. “When I was about nine years-old my teachers told my Mom that I would make a very good lawyer, because I liked to argue,” Darwell relates, and this sentiment was repeated by teachers throughout his school years.
He charted a path in college
that led to Georgetown and a goal of becoming an international trade attorney. He worked as a waiter to help support himself and he compares that job to building a law practice. “Being a waiter was great training,” Darwell says. “You have a different person at each table and each table is like a cold call–you don’t know them and they don’t know you. Providing the best service is the key to getting paid and when you can’t do something you delegate to a bus person or ask someone else for help.”
Darwell’s Methodology for Getting Clients
After a brief foray into international law at a firm, Darwell decided it wasn’t where he wanted to be. So he set his sights on a career in entertainment law. He did not have connections in the entertainment industry, so he made a point of getting to know the partners in the firm who handled clients in film, tv and book publishing. He also joined some film organizations and it was through them that he landed his first clients.
“I had a methodology for attracting clients,” says Darwell, “I knew that a focused approach worked best.” His strategy included:
- “Lunching Up” – He would arrange lunches with people in positions above him. They included senior executives and in-house attorneys, as well as the general counsels at studios. He even met with opposing counsel after deals were made.
- Become a resource and stay relevant – Darwell would get to know his connections well and made a point of trying to help them solve problems, even if they were not official “clients”. If someone needed to solve a problem, Darwell offered to help.
- Go global – He would meet with international studios and other entertainment heads abroad. At the time they may not have been looking for U.S. representation, but you never know what might come up in the future.
Serve Clients and Your Team
“Some lawyers like to hold onto their clients and do not delegate,” Darwell notes “They reach a ceiling in their practices because they can’t do it ‘all’”.
Darwell knows how to inspire and manage. For him delegation equals brand extension, and his brand was all about serving his clients and his team. When it was time to pitch a client, he brought associates. When a team member brought in business, they would all get excited. By empowering associates and introducing them to clients, Darwell was able to continue to build relationships and build the business.
Although Darwell’s team takes good care of their clients, everyone knows that he is available 24/7. He says, “I answered the phone once and a client asked me where I was. I told him I was on a camel in Morocco. It was a running joke with clients–where in the world is Bob Darwell?”
