The Wellness Docket: You’re Not The Only One Struggling To Lead in a Modern Law Firm - Why Running a Law Firm Is So Difficult
This summer I attended an executive education program for law firm leaders at Harvard Law School’s Center for the Legal Profession. The audience was made up of lawyers from all law firm sizes, all different practice areas and from fifteen different countries. It was enlightening to see how despite all our differences, we struggled with the same issues as leaders: the mental health of our people (including our own), difficulties managing through change and managing workplaces with multiple generations chief among them. My main personal focus throughout the program was on how I could use what we had learned to improve mental health in legal workplaces.
In one of our early classes, Professor David B. Wilkins provided an overview of research done on lawyer psychology which provided insights into why law firm leaders all over the world struggle with the same issues. In his PowerPoint presentation he outlined personality traits that are typical of lawyers: intelligent, achievers, successful, autonomous, want to be involved, hungry for feedback, insecure and overloaded agendas. Those traits are often true of both law firm leaders and those which we are assigned to lead.
I was surprised by the depth of academic work that has been done in this area as it is not frequently discussed in Canada. Various studies have examined personality traits of lawyers and other professionals. Some are summarized online in an accessible format by Ronda Muir of Law People Management. She outlines that lawyers are much more skeptical than other professionals and that we also tend to have lower than average emotional intelligence. She notes that lawyers tend to struggle with the ability to accurately perceive their own emotions and the emotions of others. You can find more reading on these subjects in the academic work of Dr. Larry Richard which is available for free on his website.
I have learned that lawyers as a group do not naturally have the skills necessary to be effective managers and leaders. We almost always have to learn on the job without having any prior training or experience. This leads to law firm managers and leaders becoming overwhelmed and it leads to poor mental health outcomes for themselves and the teams they lead.
Managing and leading within law firms is difficult. However, in the isolation of our own offices, it is easy to think that we are the only ones struggling. I know that I have felt that way. It was a life-altering experience for me to learn that 1) there are academics who have devoted their careers to these issues, 2) that the same issues are playing out all over the world in offices of all sizes and, most importantly, 3) That I am not alone.
My main takeaways from the program may be helpful for all of you. I wish to implement some of the following ideas to take better care of my colleagues and myself:
Provide pro-active training to professionals on management and leadership principles before they are required to take on those responsibilities in your office;
Develop Awards to Celebrate good behaviours;
Consider scorecard-type compensation schemes that consider more than just hours worked and billings;
Connect with other firm managers and leaders and other business leaders in your network;
Recognize your own shortcomings as a leader and identify areas to enhance your performance;
Involve your professionals in discussions about the future of the firm and give people of various vintages opportunities to lead in small ways;
Consider generational differences and the individual strengths and weaknesses of your people. One size does not often fit all.
Most importantly, let’s all remember that we are not alone.
* Erin Durant is the founder of Durant Barristers a litigation, investigation and sport law firm. She is also the author of “It Burned Me All Down” which is a book about her experience with mental illness as a practicing lawyer. The book also makes recommendations for legal workplaces to improve their work environments. She also has experience representing lawyers in both malpractice and disciplinary hearings. She can be reached at edurant@durantbarristers.com