Max Crane only needs two words to sum up his two decades leading Sills Cummis & Gross: Festina lente.
The Latin phrase, credited to Augustus Caesar, translates to “make haste slowly.” Crane said it has guided his entire tenure as managing partner of Sills Cummis & Gross, the powerful Newark firm.
“You got to keep moving, you got to move with expedition, but you don’t want to jump too far, too fast, or trip over yourself, or throw the organization into turmoil,” he told BINJE.
Today, Crane is being elevated to chairman of the firm. Rich Epstein, his deputy managing partner for the past eight years, takes over as managing partner.
It’s a handoff Crane planned for a long time. A very long time.
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Crane said mishandling transitions is one of the things that kills organizations. So, he started early.
“I actually looked for my successor almost from the day I started because I saw the skills that were needed,” he said.
He liked what he saw in Epstein as a lawyer, a colleague and a thoughtful person. Naming a successor years ahead gave Epstein time to show his mettle — and gave the firm time to find out if Crane had guessed wrong. Epstein, Crane said, had “all check pluses.”
Crane, a corporate lawyer, even moved Epstein, a litigator, off the litigation floor and onto his own. The reason was simple.
“We didn’t have to set up an appointment,” he said. “We didn’t have to pick up the phone. We just could walk two offices down and talk things through, and that worked out.”
Crane gave Epstein credit for doing the job for years without letting ego get in the way.
“That’s a long time for a smart lawyer and a successful lawyer to be willing to hold their fire for the betterment of the firm,” he said. “And Rich did that superbly.”
As for the timing — the ‘Why Now?’ — Crane kept it simple.
“I thought it was time,” he said. “I thought Rich was ready. I thought the firm was ready, and quite frankly, I probably had a little less patience than I once did — and I thought I was ready.”
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At a time when many New Jersey firms have merged or been bought out, Crane leaves the top job with the firm in strong shape.
He recently told his partners the firm is having a great year — and that they shouldn’t take it for granted.
“Lest you think it’s easy, you should know that many of your peers are not having great years,” he told them.
Sills has had chances to join the merger wave. Crane said the firm has talked with other firms, both larger and smaller, about doing things together, in market and out of market. The numbers get a hard look. But the final call comes from somewhere else.
“Ultimately, it has to resonate in your gut, and … none of them, quite frankly, resonated in my gut,” he said.
The firm also has had opportunities to leave Newark. Staying put, Crane said, is “an homage to Clive Cummis — to his vision, his dedication to this state and to this city.”
Its people tend to stay put, too. Crane said the firm hasn’t really lost anyone for money reasons.
“We do well. We’re highly profitable, and we reward top performers,” he said. “We respect each other and we help each other.”
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Asked about the moves he’s proudest of, Crane pointed to lateral hiring. When he took the job, he told his predecessor, Steve Gross, the firm was great — but thin.
“I don’t think we have a deep enough bench and a broad enough bench, and I don’t think we have enough to grow it all internally,” he recalled telling him.
Gross told him to go for it. The firm has brought in a lot of lateral hires since, and Crane said they’ve made an impact on a collegial, structural and economic basis.
The firm has hired more than three dozen attorneys in the past 18 months, bringing its total to more than 150. It’s a lot to oversee.
Crane said two groups are always top of mind: the firm’s top producers — and the people in the mailroom, who have mortgages and rent to pay and would face a lot more anxiety if their jobs didn’t exist.
How did he do it. Crane said his secret sauce is simple.
“You have to be opportunistic,” he said. “You have to be a good communicator, but you have to be a better listener.”
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As chairman, Crane said he will keep working on lateral recruiting and bigger economic issues with Epstein, whose office is right next to his. What he won’t do is second-guess him.
“I don’t really want to deal with the day-to-day complaints,” he said. “I don’t want to be in appeals court. That would be unfair to Rich and unfair to the firm.”
Crane expects some partners will gripe about Epstein’s decisions. His job, he said, will be to back him.
He compared it to a president leaving office.
“At the end of your term, it’s the end of your term,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to help, but I don’t want to get in his way.”
Crane may do a bit more lawyering — negotiating, strategy, maybe some crisis management. He admitted his drafting skills are a bit out of practice. That’s OK. He has time. If he wants it.
How long will he stay on as chairman? A couple of years for sure, he said. Beyond that, it depends on how the firm is doing, how Epstein is doing and whether he’s having fun.
He’ll decide the way he’s decided everything else — think it through, then move.
“Thinking without moving is useless,” Crane said. “Moving without thinking is very perilous.”
