This year marks the 24th anniversary of my licensure to practice law. I think such a benchmark allows me to now refer to those currently in law school as the “next generation” of lawyers. I recently had the unique opportunity to get together with a group of these next generation lawyers to discuss some of the things that don’t necessarily come through in the classroom.
Josie Gough, the director of experiential learning at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, invited me and David Susler to meet with her class of students to share the insight that comes with a few years of real life experience. Our discussion mirrored some of the issues that I have written about in this column, the idea being to help the students benefit by hearing from experienced lawyers who could describe some of the landmines that many lawyers may encounter over the course of their careers.
Although many issues were touched upon, the focus always returned to the notions of integrity, honor, duty and humility around which our talk was based. I was truly impressed with the way the students genuinely embraced these concepts and seemed determined to absorb as much as possible in the short time we had together.
I was similarly impressed with the way that Professor Gough reaches out to the community of lawyers to bring their actual experiences to life for students who have had relatively little exposure to practicing law. By working in externships and meeting lawyers from the real practice world, the students gain snippets of wisdom accumulated over the course of many lifetimes of practice across a broad practice base – private practice, in-house, public interest, judicial and government. Professor Gough uses her extensive “Rolodex” not only to connect her students with terrific practical experience externships, but also to call on lawyers like Susler and me to provide insight into the “softer” skills, such as getting along with your boss, creating value for the company in the legal department and nurturing quality relationships with your clients.
She also creates the opportunity for her students to affirm that what she teaches them in the classroom is not just theoretical. They learn from “outsiders” that maintaining their integrity is essential to a successful career and not just flowery language that means nothing once they actually enter practice – that it impacts how they will be viewed by judges and other lawyers for the rest of their careers. They learn that they will soon occupy positions of leadership in their communities, that they will be sought out to solve problems, that there are many gray areas and advice is usually not black and white, that they might have to make a difficult choice between a client and “doing the right thing.”
They learn to understand that their chosen profession is indeed noble and that they must act with nobility (not arrogance) and with heartfelt humility. They learn it is important to treat everyone with the dignity they deserve simply because they are a member of the human race – from their support staff or the poor pro bono client to the partner in the corner office. They learn that they must use the gifts they have been given and the positions they have earned, to give back to the community and to further enhance the profession of law.
Susler and I were privileged to have been a part of Professor Gough’s experiential learning class. If you are afforded a similar privilege, as a member of this noble profession you are called to answer, to help ensure that the next generation of lawyers continues to value the privilege of practicing law and the position of influence that goes along with it.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Emotional Intelligence
“…the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, “Emotional Intelligence”, 1990
A high Emotional Intelligence Quotient, or EQ, is an essential element of a successful lawyer’s personality. This is readily apparent from the definition set forth above. Some scholars believe that one’s EQ is set at birth while others believe that Emotional Intelligence can be learned and developed. In either case, breaking down the several elements that make up the EQ helps one to better understand the concept of EI. When one is aware of the various factors that enter into the EQ, one can work to harness the insight gained and enhance the ability to interact with the client.
As is the case in traditional psychological sciences, there are several schools of thought that address the concept of EI. I will look at the model posed by Salovey and Mayer in their 1990 article “Emotional Intelligence.”
Salovey and Mayer break down EI into four basic elements: (1) Perceiving emotions; (2) Reasoning with emotions; (3) Understanding emotions; and (4) Managing emotions. In the context of our profession, it is very important for us to be in tune with the emotions of our clients.
You might wonder why someone’s emotional state is so important in our delivery of legal advice. It is important to remember, while our client is the company, the company is made up of people. People cannot be separated from their emotions. As people and employees, they may have concerns about their job performance, the decisions they have made that are now being questioned (or are going to make based on your advice), the mistakes they may have made (or are perceived to have made) and impact they are having on the business. People also have lives outside the company. A sick wife, child or parent, financial problems, major life decisions – all have an impact on the emotional well being of the individual and hence impact the manner in which they address the business problem at hand and in turn the manner in which you provide counsel.
As lawyers, once we have a sense of the emotional state of our client, we need to understand the root of that emotion. Is it business related, or personal in nature? Does it revolve around you and the advice you have given in the past and anticipation about what advice you might give now? Or, does it involve someone else in the business? What is the client’s relationship with that person? What is your relationship with that third person and with the client?
The most important aspect of the Salovey and Mayer model for you to consider is how to deal with the knowledge and insight you have gained into your client’s emotional state. This is the real test of your EQ. Those lawyers who are successful are able to make an accurate assessment of what they are dealing with and react with an approach that is complementary to the given situation.
My friend Jenifer Robbins, General Counsel at FPL Advisory Group, summed up lawyers’ EQ in one word – “Empathy”. The ability to relate to your client on an emotional level is absolutely essential for the successful corporate attorney and business person.
As you approach your daily activities, take a moment to think about those with whom you are interacting and try to gauge their emotional state, think about why they might be feeling the way they do, and take into consideration their perspectives and emotional state as you interact with them.
“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge”
Plato
Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Golden Rule
The Golden Rule, also known as the ethic of reciprocity, in its various manifestations and restatements over thousands of years forms the basis for almost every culture in human history. Why then is it so hard to abide by this seemingly simple rule? More importantly, why is it so hard for lawyers to practice it?
We are duty bound to zealously represent our clients. Some lawyers treat this duty as a license to use every dirty trick in the dirty lawyer book to accomplish the client goals, as long as those tricks don’t technically violate a rule or cross an ethical line. Lawyers are human beings and as such are not immune to moral and ethical dilemmas. All of us, lawyer and non-lawyer, face choices every day. Those choices have consequences – good and bad. Many times, the prospect of personal or professional gain distracts us from making the right choice – the choice that we would want our similarly situated colleagues to make were the roles reversed.
Practicing the Golden Rule in our personal and professional lives should be the very essence of what it is to be a lawyer. But, how do we reconcile our ethical obligations to our client with the universal of the Golden Rule? That is somewhat of a trick question as I do not think they are necessarily at odds.
Lawyers have a system of rules governing the substance of what we do every day (statutes, regulations, court rules, case law) as well as ethical rules which govern our conduct. When we play in the lawyering space, we play knowing that these rules are in place – we accept them as a given, something that comes with the privilege of practicing law. Smart lawyers know and understand the rationale for these rules and do their best to mind both the spirit and the letter of the law.
Part of what it means to act zealously is to work to test and sometimes change the law. In order to do this, we sometimes have to advance arguments that might seem specious to some, valid to others. In addition to the law, lawyers must deal with people. People are a part of everything we do. Our clients provide us with strategic business plans, advertising copy, lists of people affected by reductions in force, contracts and the facts in litigation matters. When one understands the fluid nature of the law and that facts are recollected by people with differing perspectives of what occurred, there is almost always room for legitimate arguments to be made. However, making legitimate arguments is a far cry from manipulating the system, committing mischief, playing dirty or treating others poorly. There is never a legitimate excuse for failing to practice the ethic of reciprocity, the Golden Rule.
As lawyers, we should first and foremost represent our clients to the best of our ability. This does not imply taking cheap shots at opposing counsel or making frivolous arguments. Rather, implicit in this duty is the responsibility to act within the bounds of the rules set in place by the authorities that govern our practice. As a profession with a high calling, it is also our duty and responsibility to put ourselves into the position of the lawyer (and the client) on the other side of the matter and act according to the principles of the ethic of reciprocity. Respect that lawyer and her client as you expect to be respected. Treat the lawyer and her client the way that you expect and deserve to be treated. Do not be underhanded, do not lie. Abide by the Golden Rule in whichever manifestation you recognize it.
“…Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Leviticus 19:18
We are duty bound to zealously represent our clients. Some lawyers treat this duty as a license to use every dirty trick in the dirty lawyer book to accomplish the client goals, as long as those tricks don’t technically violate a rule or cross an ethical line. Lawyers are human beings and as such are not immune to moral and ethical dilemmas. All of us, lawyer and non-lawyer, face choices every day. Those choices have consequences – good and bad. Many times, the prospect of personal or professional gain distracts us from making the right choice – the choice that we would want our similarly situated colleagues to make were the roles reversed.
Practicing the Golden Rule in our personal and professional lives should be the very essence of what it is to be a lawyer. But, how do we reconcile our ethical obligations to our client with the universal of the Golden Rule? That is somewhat of a trick question as I do not think they are necessarily at odds.
Lawyers have a system of rules governing the substance of what we do every day (statutes, regulations, court rules, case law) as well as ethical rules which govern our conduct. When we play in the lawyering space, we play knowing that these rules are in place – we accept them as a given, something that comes with the privilege of practicing law. Smart lawyers know and understand the rationale for these rules and do their best to mind both the spirit and the letter of the law.
Part of what it means to act zealously is to work to test and sometimes change the law. In order to do this, we sometimes have to advance arguments that might seem specious to some, valid to others. In addition to the law, lawyers must deal with people. People are a part of everything we do. Our clients provide us with strategic business plans, advertising copy, lists of people affected by reductions in force, contracts and the facts in litigation matters. When one understands the fluid nature of the law and that facts are recollected by people with differing perspectives of what occurred, there is almost always room for legitimate arguments to be made. However, making legitimate arguments is a far cry from manipulating the system, committing mischief, playing dirty or treating others poorly. There is never a legitimate excuse for failing to practice the ethic of reciprocity, the Golden Rule.
As lawyers, we should first and foremost represent our clients to the best of our ability. This does not imply taking cheap shots at opposing counsel or making frivolous arguments. Rather, implicit in this duty is the responsibility to act within the bounds of the rules set in place by the authorities that govern our practice. As a profession with a high calling, it is also our duty and responsibility to put ourselves into the position of the lawyer (and the client) on the other side of the matter and act according to the principles of the ethic of reciprocity. Respect that lawyer and her client as you expect to be respected. Treat the lawyer and her client the way that you expect and deserve to be treated. Do not be underhanded, do not lie. Abide by the Golden Rule in whichever manifestation you recognize it.
“…Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Leviticus 19:18
An Opportunity to Get to Know Each Other
I had the good fortune to meet a very nice young lawyer today, the kind of lawyer who will make a big difference in the lives of many people for generations to come.
Sam Finkelstein is the founder and CEO of Legal Prep Charter Academies. LPCA is a legal-themed charter high school approved to open in the Chicago Public School System in the fall of 2012. It will offer a college prep curriculum in a very high-quality learning environment in a high need community in Chicago.
I am excited about this new Chicago public school for many reasons. Too many in fact to address in this column. So for today, I will focus on only one – the “diverse” school population served by the school and the opportunities such diversity presents to lawyers who are not used to working with such populations. I have seen or heard various statistics from several sources that indicate that by the middle of the 21st Century, “diverse” individuals will make up 50 percent of the U.S. population. To many people this may be a shocking statistic, but it is well accepted as a realistic estimate of our future ethnic/cultural make-up. So for those who find this an uncomfortable statistic, I suggest a retooling of mindset in order to be successful in our “new” world.
A good friend of mine related to me that he (like many of my colleagues in the law) was raised in a middle class, white, suburban, Christian community during the 1960s and 1970s. To him, this was America. The only “diversity” he experienced was between Irish, Germans, Polish, Italians, Catholic and Protestants (and various mixtures of those particular groups). Once in a while there might be an Asian or Asian Pacific person who crossed his path. So, while this was a diverse group in one sense, in another it was very homogenous.
My friend met his first black person in college as well as his first Jewish person (at a Catholic university). As he told it, these people were unfamiliar to him and he did not know how to relate to them. Not only had he never met people like this, but what he “knew” about them from others was generally negative. As one might guess, he avoided them as anyone might do when confronted with an uncomfortable situation.
What does any of this have to do with the latest charter school to be approved by the CPS system? The lawyer community is going to be given the opportunity to step up and assist the school as it accepts its first class of freshmen next year, the graduating “Class of 2016.” We will be given mentoring, teaching and other project based opportunities.
We must take advantage of these opportunities so that we can get to know the students in these programs. We must let them see who we are and learn who they are. We need to teach each other about each others’ backgrounds, our respective upbringing, our neighborhoods and home life. People will open up if given an emotionally safe environment that encourages openness and sharing of sometimes uncomfortable and unfounded preconceptions about each other. All participants will learn about each other. Misconceptions, prejudgments and false stereotypical characterizations of each other will dissolve.
The people who participate will learn that despite their differences, we are all more alike than different. By getting to know people who are “different,” who come from a different place, socially, culturally, financially and geographically, walls are broken down and bridges built – one person, one mentor/mentee relationship at a time. People begin to see that yes, there may be differences in speech, food, skin color and so on, but also that they really aren’t that different in their core – they are human beings wanting to provide for their families, desiring good education and the opportunity to excel.
When we come to this level of understanding, we no longer avoid each other or walk on the other side of the street. As lawyers, as leaders of our business and neighborhood communities, we are called to take a leadership role in this process. The new Chicago Legal Prep Academy and people like Sam Finkelstein will provide us an opportunity to do so.
Sam Finkelstein is the founder and CEO of Legal Prep Charter Academies. LPCA is a legal-themed charter high school approved to open in the Chicago Public School System in the fall of 2012. It will offer a college prep curriculum in a very high-quality learning environment in a high need community in Chicago.
“…Legal Prep will focus on the skills that all great lawyers possess: excellent written and oral communication, critical thinking, problem solving and advocacy…While not all of our students will go on to be lawyers, all students will gain an understanding and respect for the law. Students will give back to their communities through scheduled service projects. Every student will be required to gain admittance to college in order to graduate from Legal Prep.” (Emphasis as in original) Legal Prep Mission Statement
I am excited about this new Chicago public school for many reasons. Too many in fact to address in this column. So for today, I will focus on only one – the “diverse” school population served by the school and the opportunities such diversity presents to lawyers who are not used to working with such populations. I have seen or heard various statistics from several sources that indicate that by the middle of the 21st Century, “diverse” individuals will make up 50 percent of the U.S. population. To many people this may be a shocking statistic, but it is well accepted as a realistic estimate of our future ethnic/cultural make-up. So for those who find this an uncomfortable statistic, I suggest a retooling of mindset in order to be successful in our “new” world.
A good friend of mine related to me that he (like many of my colleagues in the law) was raised in a middle class, white, suburban, Christian community during the 1960s and 1970s. To him, this was America. The only “diversity” he experienced was between Irish, Germans, Polish, Italians, Catholic and Protestants (and various mixtures of those particular groups). Once in a while there might be an Asian or Asian Pacific person who crossed his path. So, while this was a diverse group in one sense, in another it was very homogenous.
My friend met his first black person in college as well as his first Jewish person (at a Catholic university). As he told it, these people were unfamiliar to him and he did not know how to relate to them. Not only had he never met people like this, but what he “knew” about them from others was generally negative. As one might guess, he avoided them as anyone might do when confronted with an uncomfortable situation.
What does any of this have to do with the latest charter school to be approved by the CPS system? The lawyer community is going to be given the opportunity to step up and assist the school as it accepts its first class of freshmen next year, the graduating “Class of 2016.” We will be given mentoring, teaching and other project based opportunities.
We must take advantage of these opportunities so that we can get to know the students in these programs. We must let them see who we are and learn who they are. We need to teach each other about each others’ backgrounds, our respective upbringing, our neighborhoods and home life. People will open up if given an emotionally safe environment that encourages openness and sharing of sometimes uncomfortable and unfounded preconceptions about each other. All participants will learn about each other. Misconceptions, prejudgments and false stereotypical characterizations of each other will dissolve.
The people who participate will learn that despite their differences, we are all more alike than different. By getting to know people who are “different,” who come from a different place, socially, culturally, financially and geographically, walls are broken down and bridges built – one person, one mentor/mentee relationship at a time. People begin to see that yes, there may be differences in speech, food, skin color and so on, but also that they really aren’t that different in their core – they are human beings wanting to provide for their families, desiring good education and the opportunity to excel.
When we come to this level of understanding, we no longer avoid each other or walk on the other side of the street. As lawyers, as leaders of our business and neighborhood communities, we are called to take a leadership role in this process. The new Chicago Legal Prep Academy and people like Sam Finkelstein will provide us an opportunity to do so.
For more on Chicago Legal Prep Academy click here: http://www.legalprep.org/
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