An Introduction to Emotionally Intelligent Lawyering

What do I mean when I talk about Emotionally Intelligent Lawyering? In a profession where words carry immense weight, let us remember the eloquent wisdom of Maya Angelou:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

The area of Emotional intelligence (EI) brings up an interesting conundrum for lawyers: the choice between emotions and reason. Starting in law school, we were taught to prioritise critical thinking over our emotions. Contrarily, it seems clear from studies that to manage our work effectively also requires other, more emotion related skills, such as communication, conflict resolution, and team work.

Unfortunately, the law is still often seen by others as more profit-driven, aggressive and confrontational than other professions. From this perspective, I believe that investing in EI can bring much needed emotional coping skills to people in a high pressure industry, and also encourage more creativity and innovative ideas and strategies.

Put most simply, EI is about being in tune with and managing your emotions, as well as those of others around you, which has shown through extensive research to bring many tangible business benefits, including improved revenue and gross margin.

EI frequently employs so called “psychometric tests” to assess competencies of people and teams, or to check-in on how they are dealing with stress situations in their environments. 

Those who choose to focus on EI skills (in addition to more technical work aspects) stand to gain significantly. For lawyers, EI can directly translate to building new relationships with clients and also managing these better, having strong connections with colleagues, and building resilience to survive highly stressful situations.

Based on this, it is clear EI is becoming a “must have” for lawyers and legal organisations, a belief already being recognised in different and creative ways by leading law firms and organisations around the world (which, by the way, include Magic Circle law firms and other leading players the industry).

In some cases, EI is being directly connected to other organisational goals, such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, since it adds value by helping people to understand each other better, accept each other’s differences, and communication building in teams. 

So as a final thought, I would add that embracing EI in the legal sector isn’t just a choice; it is an evolution—a transformative journey toward a more effective, empathetic, and ultimately, successful legal practice.

This is the idea behind what I call “Emotionally Intelligent Lawyering”

Final remarks

For me, topics concerning Coaching and Mentoring, Leadership, and EI, which I will be exploring further in the coming months, can essentially help us create a toolkit that we can tailor to address the challenges faced in the legal sector and to positively impact the profession in a meaningful way, together with all its stakeholders.

If we can find a way to do this, I believe that we will be on the right track!

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