The Marble and the Sculptor by Keith Lee: Quick Book Summary and Review

This book is marketed as a book that shows new lawyers what they can expect once they begin practicing law.  In essence, it is a cheerleading book to encourage new lawyers to stay with the practice of law and work on improving their skills. The book mostly assumes that the lawyers reading this book will land a job at a law firm. But, unless the new lawyer had a very good intern opportunity where a job was offered or is highly connected to other lawyers, or has graduated from a top law school in the top twenty percent you will need good luck and a lot of perseverance.   

In The Marble and the Sculptor, 2013, The American Bar Association, Keith Lee, a third-year associate, has a written a guide book for new lawyers.  There are many good points made. The appendix in back that suggests books and other materials is good.  This might be the most useful section of the book for many new lawyers who did not land a law firm job because it includes some reference materials on brief writing and marketing.   

Part I 

Part one focuses on the law school experience which seems a bit odd for a book that is intended for newly minted lawyers. The very first section advises anyone who hasn’t already committed to attend law school to find a different path. This is excellent advice because both new lawyers and experienced lawyers currently flood the marketplace and no more new lawyers are needed in many areas of the country.   

Next, Lee advises anyone still in law school to select classes that matter.  This is also good advice.  

Finally, Lee advises law school students to begin networking while in law school. This is essential if the law student hopes to land a job as a lawyer. 

Part II 

Part two focuses on the two fundamental skills of being a lawyer: writing and speaking. Paying attention to every word you use while writing, being temperate in your use of language, and speaking in a measured cadence are all good tips. 

Part III

Part three focuses on clients and delivering service to clients. Lee suggests that we all deliver efficient Walmart-like service with a Neiman Marcus feel.  

Part IV

Part four focuses on professional development and being so good they can’t ignore you. Included in this section are tips on learning the billing system at the law firm, being prepared when you speak to senior lawyers about a project by having pen and paper ready, finding out the deadline when you receive the project, finding out the estimated time to put into the project, and finding out which format to use. Always get paid.  These are all helpful tips

The section on habits,  detailing how many of us waste time that should be devoted to distant deadlines and new projects when we check Facebook, the news, email and other online pages, is a helpful warning. Make plans but change habits is a tip that can help everyone. 

Lee advises new lawyers they need to become a Renegade lawyer bee [a lawyer who brings in clients], not a worker bee, [a lawyer who does the work on the cases the Renegade bees have brought into the firm] is good advice for new lawyers to know since many lawyers will be cut from the firm if they are unable to generate business. Lee advises new lawyers to forget about branding and instead to work on earning a good reputation by being reliable and acting with integrity. Additionally, Lee explains that performing “deep work” - legal analysis, brief writing, reconstructing arguments, is more important than staying busy with administrative-type tasks.  


Rating *** out of 5 for new lawyers who are not at a law firm, but **** out of five for lawyers employed at a law firm.

This book is good for lawyers working at a law firm but not particularly useful to a new lawyer who did not land a job at a law firm out of law school.   

Here are my tips for the new lawyer who has not and likely will not land a job at a law firm:  HUSTLE! HUSTLE! HUSTLE! 

Find an area of practice that focuses on serving clients that the medium and large law firms don’t normally serve like Family Law, Criminal Law, Probate Law, Administrative Law, etc.  Now go out and meet some of those lawyers at bar events, at the courthouse attorney lounge, or anywhere you can get their attention without being thought of as a stalker, and offer to write some briefs for them on a contract basis or for criminal lawyers in solo practice offer to make court appearances to continue cases while the lawyer is in trial. 

Do a great job and ask those lawyers if they have any friends who could use some help.  Do good work for them, too.   Keep doing this until you can pay your rent.  

Once you know what you are doing, open your own small firm doing the same thing. Many lawyers have two practice areas because if one is hit in some manner [Workers Compensation is not a great practice in many areas now] they have a backup plan. Some lawyers combine Family Law with doing Unlawful Detainers for landlords. Others find a way to work for the courts by getting on a court panel, such as the Probate panel or one for criminal courts to represent indigent defendants and take court cases for steady income but also take private cases that pay better. 

In my opinion, you can forget about delivering efficient Walmart-like service with a Neiman Marcus feel.  Instead, ask clients what they are willing to pay for.  If they want to pay for Walmart-type service give them bare bones efficient representation that meets legal standards if you can do that within the client’s budget.  If the client wants Neiman-Marcus service, let the client know it will cost more and discuss the amount the client is willing to pay and then deliver that service and bill the client accordingly.  

Also, if you are opening your own law practice, you do need to “brand” yourself so the public knows what type of law and clients you serve.  But this can be simple. For example, if you are a divorce lawyer but you find ways to corroborate on issues and save a party money in litigation fees, let people know that in your marketing.  On the other hand, if you enjoy taking hotly contested, antagonistic divorce cases and fighting hard for your client’s rights, let clients know you take hotly contested Family Law cases and enjoy a good litigation battle.    

Best wishes! 

Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the link below.  Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review. This book was purchased, not a gift .