Superhero accepts a brief
Cartoon teaches sales to introverted lawyers
He may never attain the cult following of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, or the Incredible Hulk.
But Attorney Man has joined the ranks of animated cartoon characters, making his superhero debut in a comic book designed to teach lawyers how to be better salespeople.
The tongue-in-cheek training tool tells the story of Tim Silver, a star attorney at the fictional law firm Cha Chingi Changa LLP, who, after nine years and 23,000 billable hours, finally makes senior partner, missing the birth of his children along the way. He thinks he's reached Nirvana, until he realizes that the firm's other partners no longer give him work, that he has no clients of his own, and that he lacks the marketing skills to develop his own clientele.
It's a common scenario in today's hypercompetitive legal industry and has spawned a cottage industry of books and seminars on sales training for lawyers. The Attorney Man comic, created by Boston-area law firm consultant Karen Katz and Somerville artist Raul Gonzalez, now joins that mix.
True to its genre, the comic book -- subtitled ``the rock 'em, sock `em, must-have business development and sales story of the century for law students and attorneys of all ages" -- has lots of BOOM! and KAPOW!
Its characters include the evil uberpartner Harry Hoard, who refuses to share clients or money or to mentor junior attorneys; Tim's sexy, cellphone-toting, scantily dressed wife (``Hand over those legal briefs, baby!" she purrs in one bedroom scene), whose collagen regimen depends on Tim's paycheck; and Dr. Development, who gives Tim a magic elixir that transforms him into his alter ago, Attorney Man.
Unlike stereotypical lawyers who are introverted, risk-adverse, and better at talking than listening, Attorney Man is creative, forward-thinking, and knowledgeable about his clients' needs and industries.
Newly aware that ``thinking like a lawyer" is holding him back, he takes to heart what clients often dislike about their lawyers: arrogance, poor communication, missed deadlines, unexplained bills, uninformed associates.
By becoming a more skillful listener and communicator, Attorney Man masters the art of sales and develops a healthy roster of supersatisfied clients. ``Wow! Look at those learned hands!" one client gushes admiringly. ``You are the first attorney to ever ask us what we think!" croons another.
It's an action-packed, amusingly written, elaborately illustrated tale. But will lawyers take it seriously?
``Attorney Man is meant to be entertaining, but it's also a different way to teach something," Katz said. ``The majority of people who are drawn to the legal profession come with a certain personality style. They're analytical. They often aren't outgoing or extroverted. They spend a lot of time thinking about all the things that could potentially go wrong. And they're talkers, but they aren't doers.
``So that's a hurdle and a challenge for law firms," she said.
``But superheroes are doers, so Attorney Man is predicated on the idea that we want to inspire action," Katz said.
``Don't just say you want to go and see your client; go do it. Stop talking about excellent client service and be active about it; go do it.
``And sometimes when people get a chuckle out of something," Katz said, ``they're more inclined to think differently about it."
It can be ordered on the Web at www.attorneyman.org.
Sacha Pfeiffer can be reached at pfeiffer@globe.com. 