Looking Back Before Moving Forward: A Reflection on Culture and Growth

There is something uniquely reflective about the week between Christmas and the New Year. The pace slows, the noise fades, and there’s space to think about the year coming to a close and the one just ahead. It’s a natural pause that invites clarity, focus, and renewed intent.

Yesterday, during that in-between week, I stopped into one of my favorite boutiques in Greenville and unexpectedly ran into a former colleague from my days at Leatherwood, Walker, Todd & Mann, what we both still affectionately call the “glory days.” What began as a quick greeting turned into a few meaningful minutes of catching up on life: kids, grandkids, and the familiar question of where former attorneys and staff landed after our time together.

Then she said something that put words to a familiar feeling.

“I knew Leatherwood was a great place to work, but I didn’t fully realize how special our culture was until much later.”

I knew exactly what she meant.

Having served in leadership roles at the firm for a total of 19 years—first as firm administrator and later as executive director, I felt that same realization, along with a deep sense of belonging. The team, attorneys and staff alike, were more than employees; they were invested, connected, and genuinely cared about one another and the work we did together. At the time, we were busy doing the work: supporting leadership, advancing firm initiatives, and ensuring the delivery of exceptional legal services. It’s often only years later, with distance and perspective, that you fully understand what made a place truly special.

Those glory days weren’t defined by a building, a brand, or even a moment in time. They were defined by people. Attorneys and staff who were valued, supported, and intentionally invested in. There was a clear focus on nurturing the team, and that commitment showed up in the work, the relationships, and the lasting professional bonds that remain today.

Of course, change is inevitable. Firms grow. Mergers happen. Combinations occur. When two organizations come together, culture naturally evolves. That evolution isn’t inherently negative, it’s simply the reality of growth. But bigger almost always means different, and culture is often one of the first things to shift.

Culture doesn’t disappear when a firm grows. It transforms. The question is whether that transformation happens by design or by default.

As we turn the page from 2025 to 2026, many firms will set goals, refine strategies, and measure success through growth metrics, revenue targets, and market position. All of that matters. But this reflective week offers a reminder that another conversation deserves just as much attention.

What kind of culture are you intentionally building?

Culture isn’t a mission statement on a wall or a line in a strategic plan. It’s the lived experience of the people who show up every day. It’s how leadership communicates, how challenges are handled, how success is recognized, and whether people feel supported along the way.

The firms that people remember fondly, years or even decades later, are rarely remembered solely for their size or profitability. They are remembered for how they made people feel and how intentionally they invested in those who carried the work forward.

Sometimes, clarity comes not from a planning retreat or a boardroom discussion, but from an unexpected conversation in a boutique during the quietest week of the year. And sometimes, looking back is exactly what’s needed to move forward with purpose.

Now, with that reminder in mind, it’s time to turn the page—and step into the new year with intention, clarity, and a renewed commitment to building cultures worth remembering.