Those of us who run firms tend to think of attorney compensation as just another piece of the mix. It’s something we’ve got to figure out so the top line and the bottom line match. We need a program that treats everyone fairly, incentivizes the right behavior, and keeps the good lawyers from going away. It’s basically a math problem with some psychology mixed in.

It’s not a big deal to us. We play with it in our minds all the time.

But—and this is a big but—attorney compensation is a really, really, really big deal to the attorneys.

It’s the whole game to them.

You can’t make a casual reference to changing the attorney compensation system without setting off alarms in the big brains of your lawyers.

You’re stepping into a field of land mines when you bring up the how, whys, and how much of attorney compensation in front of the attorneys.

Tread very, very carefully.

In fact, I’d suggest you keep your mouth shut about attorney compensation entirely until you have a need to talk about it.

If you’re toying with changes, keep them to yourself until you have a plan. If you’ve read about something new and interesting on this front, don’t talk about it. Just keep all of your attorney pay ideas in a lockbox until you have a specific, detailed plan for changes and a more detailed plan on how you’re going to roll out the changes and sell them to those involved.

When you start talking about their pay, they go berserk. They’re change resistant in the first place, and their pay is the way they keep score. It’s their barometer of their well-being and performance. When you talk about changing it, you create an environment of instability. They need to know that all is well in the world, and knowing that you’re even thinking about changing their pay makes them queasy.

Of course, when you make compensation plan changes, you’re trying to secure the long-term viability of the firm, grow personal income for the attorneys, and create a win-win system. I know you’re being fair and reasonable. Your attorneys won’t see it that way. They’ll perceive your ideas as being hostile, threatening, and undermining their security. Your good intentions and motivations will not be apparent to your attorneys.

Be careful on this topic. Don’t treat it casually. Don’t think out loud. This is the most dangerous zone you’ll walk through. Treat it with the respect it deserves.