Leadership Anchored in Service

Tom Woods
Partner, Litigation

Abstract

Tom Woods, Partner in the Litigation and Trial Practice Group at Stoel Rives, draws compelling parallels between his experience in the U.S. Navy and his legal career. Speaking from his role in the firm's Sacramento office and as a member of its Veterans Outreach Group, Woods highlights how both the military and Stoel Rives operate as high-performance organizations that thrive on diversity, leadership, and rigorous training.

He emphasizes that while the environments differ, both institutions prioritize equipping their people with the tools and support needed to lead effectively. For Woods, the most striking similarity is a shared commitment to leadership development: training that not only enhances technical skill but also builds the capacity to lead.

Transcript

I am Tom Woods. I joined Stoel Rives in 2011. I have always been a member of the firm's Litigation and Trial Practice Group here in Sacramento.

What can elite military leadership teach law firms?

I eventually came to Northern California, and I chose Stoel Rives for a lot of reasons, but mainly for its legal reputation, its culture, its quality of life, and I have been happy here ever since. If I were to draw a parallel between my work and time in the Navy and what I do here at Stoel Rives, I could draw a lot. Stoel Rives is very supportive of its internal veteran’s community and its outreach. I am actually a part of the firm's inclusivity group, the Veterans Outreach Group and I participate in that, but the parallels between Stoel and the military are probably more than you would ever imagine at first glance. They are both high-performing organizations that benefit off of the diversity of their individual members, whether it is cultural diversity, demographic diversity, both organizations benefit greatly off of their individual members' participation in those various groups. They pull from those groups.

There are other factors that are parallels. It is a high-performance culture. There is a focus on leadership. Luckily at Stoel you do not quite have the screamers that you have in the military, and that is probably a good thing, and it adds to the firm culture, but I think training is the biggest similarity. In both organizations, both organizations effectively train their people to use the tools that are available to them and give them access to other tools to accomplish the mission that they are brought to handle. It is not just that. It is not just becoming a more effective sailor, soldier, IT technician, or attorney. It is not just that. It is also becoming a leader. The training not only makes you better at doing your job, but it makes you a much more effective leader.