If you’ve been heavily engrossed in season 6 of Suits it could partly be due to the sharp yet egotistical banter between lawyer, Louis Litt and Wall Street trader, Stu Buzzini. If you are of a realist nature, you’ll be questioning how the two would engage in a non-fictional world.
What are some of the most predominant traits that come to mind when envisioning the trading floor of a stock brokerage? Most likely, terms such as “motivated” and “sales-driven” will be paired alongside other qualities including “cut-throat” and even “relentless”. Similarly, law firms are undoubtedly associated with similar phrases such as “hungry for money” and “focused”. While these are broad observations, the fact of the matter is that lawyers and traders share some character traits in common. Still, there are other aspects which could dramatically clash. We are now left to ask whether or not lawyers and stock traders would ever be able to occupy the same space at the same time during the working day. Let’s take a look at some of the areas which could present some interesting scenarios using both fictional and real-life examples.
Differences in Ethics
Of course, we need to address ethics. There are many who associate stock traders with a money-hungry attitude and a less-than-scrupulous approach when dealing with clients. Commissions are the bottom line and the “good” salesperson will do nearly anything to close a sale and obtain a telegraphic transfer receipt. While this is likely more fictional than truth, we need to recall such personalities such as Jordan Belfort (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street). To be successful in this business, even the most mild-mannered trader needs to have a bit of an edge.
If we consider the role of ethics within law, sure, legal training addresses “correct” behavior, however lawyers can be just as driven by sales and closing cases; consider the characters of Jessica Pearson and Daniel Hardman. If we then take the characters of Harvey Specter and Mike Ross in this illustration, although they close cases their ethics have either been compromised; sometimes saved by their personalities and vice versa. While the plot itself is fictional, there have indeed been many reports of times when lawyers have cut corners. Therefore, ethics for both industries run on thin lines.
Dominance on the Floor
Lawyers and stock traders are both highly driven professionals. Many will exhibit what is known as a Type-A personality, which could prove problematic and interpersonal clashes may be overtly present. If we can imagine twenty or more individuals on telephones clamoring for deals or to secure clients, a scenario suddenly becomes very realistic: one a typical day traders can be quite aggressive in their mannerisms due to sheer rivalry alone.
Personal pride could be another stumbling block. Each industry requires a high level of self-confidence. As it is likely that each side will not fully understand what the other does on a daily basis, we could likewise see clashes in terms of performance, expectations and even static knowledge.
Work Hard, Play Hard?
Both professions are known to be challenging and at times, highly stressful. So, it only makes sense these professionals will need to “blow off some steam” on occasion. We should note here that as opposed to the heady trading days of the 1980s, this will normally not occur within the office environment. The era of personalities such as Jordan Belfort motivating employees with narcotics and liquor have long since passed. Still, it is not unreasonable to imagine characters from Suits and The Wolf of Wall Street partying hard until the wee hours of the morning during a work week.
The good news is that in such a case, relationships between the two firms can be built outside of the office. Friendships could even develop over time although each one would otherwise appear to be within “opposite trenches” during the typical work week. This is arguably one of the main reasons why many legal firms and stock trading facilities encourage activities such as nights out on the town with colleagues.
A Synergy of Growth?
Let’s imagine what would have happen if the brokerage Stratton Oakmont from the Wolf of Wall Street worked in the same office as the fictional New York law firm portrayed in Suits. Would Jordan Belfort have ever been caught or would he have worked in conjunction with the nearby legal advisors? This is an interesting question with no concrete answer. What if we took real life examples of the larger stock broker firm, CMC Markets and lawyer firm, DLA Piper? It is likely that the lawyers would distance themselves from the law firm’s operations entirely. Still, up-and-coming enterprises looking to gain revenue could have very well worked in conjunction.
The fact of the matter is that while there are certainly underlying differences between the legal and financial sectors, these professionals share a considerable number of similar personality traits. Therefore, it could very well be reasonable to witness such companies and personalities working on a side-by-side basis. In fact, many larger brokerages already have a dedicated in-house legal team as opposed to outsourcing such services to a third party. Depending upon the companies in question, a working relationship could be much more of a reality than we were initially led to believe. Maybe then, the clash between Litt and Buzzini is not far off from what it could be in reality.
