Edward Bibko, global general counsel with Kobre & Kim, discusses what he incorporates into his leadership style, and his search for team members who are engaged, challenge him and have a sense of humor.
CCBJ: What led you to your current role with Kobre & Kim?
Edward Bibko: A recruiter contacted me, and it was simply too interesting an opportunity not to discuss. Kobre & Kim is an innovative law firm that was doing all of the things I had decided law firms should be doing while I was in private practice. They have picked up on the things that I remember being huge frustrations. They are the “un-law firm” to some extent, because of their corporate approach. I thought it was a really interesting vision of the future of legal services – and that it would be a terrific opportunity.
Tell us a bit about your leadership style and who or what has influenced it.
I was in private practice for a very long time, and I was also the head of a practice group at a law firm. When you run a practice group, it’s not traditional management. It’s more about providing direction and trying to inspire people and make them want to work together on opportunities. Unusually, I didn’t go in-house until about 20 years into my career. I was the European general counsel at Jefferies, an investment bank.
I would say that both of those things influenced my leadership style. Having led a practice group, you learn to be sensitive to what motivates people and to push internal initiatives forward. And being in private practice for so long, I could really see the focus on greater productivity happening and the overall shift in the legal profession toward value as opposed to just billable hours. So in terms of my leadership style, I incorporate things from both of those experiences. I try to articulate a clear to the people that work with me. And I very much try to delegate and trust people to make their own mistakes and to learn from them. I try to ask helpful questions and avoid micromanagement. But I do try to muck-in and do a portion of the day-to-day work alongside the team, which provides tremendous insight into the practical aspects of our work.
The thing that I’m most passionate about is focusing on value rather than time. Not every hour you spend in the day has the same value. I encourage everyone to look at what they do and to try to make their job into what they want it to be. Continually examine what you do, decide where you’re adding value, and engineer out the frustrations that are taking up time and not adding value. Look for continuing improvement. I try to have a project management ethic in terms of sharing successes but also failures with others, so that we can learn as a team and debate how to do things better.
As for who influenced me, I would point to two people. One is Mike Sharp, who’s the global general counsel at Jefferies and one of the best lawyers I’ve ever worked with. He has a concise and incredibly effective communication style, which I will struggle to emulate for the rest of my career. He is crystal clear and boils things down to the bare essence. Not only does that help provide direction, it underpins his gravitas. And then second, at my earlier job at Baker McKenzie, the global head of capital markets, Amar Budarapu, was the master of running a meeting. All of us have read leadership course articles on how to manage and run meetings, but he’s one of the few people I’ve seen really do it well. It sounds simple, but it’s hard to do. He would set the agenda, set the tone, and very quietly, without people realizing he was doing it, firmly steer the discussion. At the end, we would end up with the best solution, and there was complete buy-in because everyone participated in the outcome. Only later would you realize that while Amar was the person who had probably spoken the least, his contributions had gotten us to where we needed to be. He’s someone I try to emulate.
What qualities do you seek when hiring new people for your team?
You need a core competency, of course. Beyond that, I look for people who are engaged – meaning that they won’t shy away from problems and buy into the idea of self-defining their role. The phrase I like to describe it is someone who “runs toward the cannon fire”. That’s really what I’m looking for. Someone who can find joy in what they’re doing, yes, but more than that. Someone who would always be willing to challenge me if they thought what I was doing didn’t make sense. Oh, and a sense of humor is hugely important.
What’s the most valuable career advice you’ve received?
I think back to my very first legal job: I was an intern at the New York State Office of the Attorney General, and the man who ran that office was pretty folksy. He would often say, “The world needs broad shoulders.” At first I didn’t really understand what he was getting at, but I’ve reflected on it many times over the years. I think it means different things at different stages of your career, but now I think about it in terms of being a leader, looking at things and identifying what need to be fixed and taking the responsibility of going out and fixing them, even if it’s not part of the job description. It’s not the most complex advice, but it’s stuck with me.
Are there any changes you’re hoping to see within the legal profession in the near future?
Looking back at my time in private practice, I’ve seen a huge evolution in law. And I think it’s gotten worse. In particular, there is too much overspecialization. Part of what is driving it, I think, is that in recent years there has been a craze to measure everything. And it has created a lot of bad behaviors. If you start looking at the profitability of everything, you miss how things work together as a whole.
The best way I can explain it is by talking about one of the deals I did a long time ago, which involved the Savoy Hotel in London. As part of that, the hotel’s managers explained why the hotel had declined and how they were fixing it. Essentially, the former managers started analyzing the profitability of everything. The shoeshine shop didn’t make a profit, so they got rid of that. The dry cleaning service didn’t make a profit, so they got rid of that. When they finished it was no longer a five-star hotel. Most modern law firms are like that – they’re really just a collection of solo practitioners who operate under a single brand and shared back-office resources. It’s very rare that I find a law firm that is truly collaborative and can work well together in bringing advice.
One of the things that I really like about Kobre & Kim is that they have identified these various points of frustration and built a law firm that addresses them. For instance, they rely heavily on really talented professional managers who focus on strategy and operations and all of the functions that need to be managed. It really makes for a better experience for everyone involved.
Published June 8, 2021.
