John J. McGivney has served as Managing Partner of BBA Sponsor Firm Rubin and Rudman LLP for nearly a decade. We caught up with John to learn more about his time in the role, his thoughts on a successful transition—when the time comes—and advice to new lawyers in Boston. Check out the full interview below:
Boston Bar Association: What inspired you to become a lawyer, and specifically your interest in litigation?
John J. McGivney: My father was a lawyer and a trial judge who died very young. His gavel rested on our home’s fireplace mantle as I was growing up, and I aspired to be like him and worthy of his name.
Trying cases, and preparing for trial, is hard and often lonely work. But courtroom advocacy can be fun and exciting, and clients really do appreciate your work in the courtroom because they often understand it much more than the behind-the-scenes preparation and mundane tasks of daily law practice. In civil cases, there are only three possible outcomes – win, lose, or settle. Of course, achieving a big win at trial or obtaining a successful settlement for your client is the ultimate objective. Still, there is no getting around the fact that losing, no matter how disappointing, is part of being a trial lawyer. Over the years, I’ve learned that if you’ve presented your very best case, you and your client can reflect on defeat with equanimity.
BBA: Do you have any particular highlights from your career that you’re especially proud of?
John: There are times when the only way for a client’s problems to be resolved is to prevail in the courtroom on a point of law, and sometimes that requires a change in the law or persuading the courts to take a more nuanced view of a legal issue than previously had been taken. Putting research and writing skills, creativity, and persuasive oral advocacy to work – skills which are prized at Rubin and Rudman – is the primary way to accomplish those kinds of outcomes for clients. I have been fortunate to have won cases for clients where the law has been changed as a result of my efforts on a client’s behalf. Sometimes those changes have been to the common law and sometimes to legal procedure, but they have been precedential changes that still have currency, including some precedents that were set decades ago.
It has also been my privilege to recover well over $150 million in verdicts, judgments, and settlements for my plaintiff/claimant clients, as well as achieving positive results for my clients on the defense side.
During my 28 years at Rubin and Rudman, I have seen the firm grow from a somewhat stodgy place back in the mid-90s to become a dynamic, multi-generational, multi-practice law firm that vigorously represents its clients and provides first-rate 21st century service for all their legal needs. Our dedication to that goal starts with our commitment to the development of our firm’s lawyers and respect for their best judgment in how to serve their clients.
BBA: What areas of the firm did you focus on during your term as Managing Partner? What do you hope your “legacy” as MP will be?
John: When I became Managing Partner almost eight years ago, our firm was looking to diversify our demographics among our lawyers to bring fresh, modern perspectives to how best to serve clients in these continuously changing, and often challenging, times. We also wanted to add complementary practice groups to the more traditional ones at Rubin and Rudman, so clients have the opportunity for one-stop shopping. I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve achieved these twin objectives and continue to transform our firm into one of the largest and most vibrant in New England, with a full roster of professionals to service clients’ needs and a deep focus on collaboration and client service.
During my tenure, we have grown to a 100+ lawyer law firm and are actively adding talent across our departments – Corporate, Business & Tax, Environmental & Land Use, Family Law, Labor & Employment, Litigation, Real Estate and Trusts & Estates. In just the last year alone, we have added more than 20 lawyers to our team and are now ranked among the 25 Largest Law Firms in Massachusetts. I’m also very proud of the fact that women now make up 50% or our practice group leaders, 40% of our partners, and 29% of our Executive Committee.
We want to sustain this growth and vitality for years to come, which means we are always forward-looking and progressive in our ideas about the practice of law and professional services. Through all these efforts, we’ve raised our firm’s profile in the legal and business world and become a leader in ways that benefit the firm, its clients, and our surrounding community.
BBA: What does an incoming Managing Partner need to know before beginning the role? Is there anything you wish you’d known when you began in that role?
John: First, patience. Nothing happens overnight. Young lawyers need time and encouragement to develop. More mature lawyers need support to build their practices. Established lawyers need assurance that when their clients have unexpected needs or new opportunities are presented to them that the firm will be responsive and adaptable.
Second, I’d say respect. Respect for the profession itself. Respect for your fellow lawyers, in the firm and outside the firm. Respect for the clients, many of whom are caught up in circumstances they never anticipated and have never experienced before.
Third, the ability to improvise when necessary, to think on your feet when new issues appear, and to embrace new ideas and worthy changes.
And fourth, love. Love your firm and be true to its highest values. It will love you back.
I’ve loved this job, and I’m honored to serve in this role for as long as my partners want me to continue. It is the proudest part of my life’s work, and I never expected that to be the case when I was first drafted into doing it. It has been demanding, but it has also allowed me to use every talent I have and every skill I developed as a lawyer and to put them to use for the betterment of the firm, its lawyers, our clients, and our community. I cannot express how grateful I am for all that I have experienced at Rubin and Rudman in this position.
BBA: What do you consider your role as outgoing MP to be in the transition to your successor? What can you—or any Managing Partner more generally—do to make this transition as seamless as possible?
John: I’m not quite “outgoing MP” yet since I’m looking forward to spending a few more years serving in this role. But when the time for transition comes, we’ll be ready because we are transparent in our decision-making and the objectives we want to accomplish. When the time for successorship arrives, I will assure that whoever succeeds me has the same kind of advice and mentoring that I received from two of my well-regarded predecessors, for which I will always be thankful.
BBA: How has Rubin and Rudman’s partnership with the BBA benefited you and your firm, and how can we continue to ensure that partnership remains mutually beneficial?
John: Our relationship with the BBA over the years has been instrumental in the professional development of our attorneys, from providing valuable networking opportunities to offering collaborative opportunities for community involvement and visibility. We truly value the work the BBA does and are fortunate to be a part of this organization.
BBA: What advice do you have for newer lawyers, whether at your firm or more generally, and law students looking to break into the Boston legal community, or are specifically looking for litigation experience?
John: When you are a young lawyer, your career is kind of like an escalator, even though you don’t realize it at the time. You’re moving forward, always advancing. And then one day, the escalator will slow down and stop. But don’t be afraid, it happens to every lawyer at some point, and then you’ll realize that a stopped escalator is a very sturdy staircase. You just need to put in the effort to keep climbing. Do that, and you’ll continue to be a success.
BBA: You’re an alumnus of one of our partner law schools, Boston College. Do you have any highlights or favorite memories of your time at BC law?
John: My fondest memory is of the late Dean Huber. He was a Midwesterner, and a very genuine, authentic person, not flamboyant in any way. I’d met him when I was an undergraduate debater at BC, and I’m not making this up, he personally admitted me to the law school, rather than the Admissions Office. When I graduated three years later, and he handed me my diploma on the stage, I thanked him for letting me in, to which he replied, “the ones I let in, always get out.” He was a great, but humble, man.
