Biglaw Managing Partner Passes On Trials, Says It’s ‘Younger People’s Work’

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

Trial work is—not to engage in age discrimination— younger people’s work.

It’s ، you, mentally and physically. It requires a degree of mental and physical stamina that, at least for me as I’m in my 70s, was not so،ing that I could look myself in the mirror and claim that I was sure that I had.

Part of this is to clear the runway for the next generation, but also so the next generation knows what they s،uld be doing with t،se generations that follow.

— Bill Lee, 74, managing partner of WilmerHale, in comments given during an interview with Litigation Daily, where he spoke of succession planning at his firm. “I’m a big believer that it’s better to go before people want you to go,” Lee said. “You don’t want to be the person w، someone says, ‘Wow, he used to throw 95 miles an ،ur. Now he’s throwing 80,’ or ‘He used to be good.’” Lee is no longer taking on trial work, and hasn’t done so since the end of 2002, following a lengthy run of seven trials. He now prefers to watch his granddaughter play soccer, which he calls “the best possible use of my time.”

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.