Despite common stereotypes about the profession, individual lawyers don’t fit neatly into any box. While in a herd, we may be stubborn, risk-averse, and adversarial, on our own, we’re human beings — complex and containing multitudes.
Even among “lawyers,” there are scattered gems of varieties — different personalities, experiences, and talents.
So why not bring that complexity to your life and day-to-day work and enjoy the full spectrum of experiences in the workplace?
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Why not enjoy the richness of each interaction and get to know each person for who they are, not for who they’re not or for whom you expect them to be?
I asked the lawyers in my network what they think.
Fitting Inside A Box Is Uncomfortable Even On A Good Day
For example, Lisa Goldkuhl, a dedicated mother and in-house supervising attorney, observed that there are many types of lawyers. She said, “Virtually every type has something to contribute. But only if you DON’T try to stuff them into a box they don’t fit in!”
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Colin Levy, legal counsel at Lookout, observed, “Our brains naturally like to categorize. However, it is often to our detriment because we underestimate others and ourselves by making judgments without first getting to know ourselves and others.”
Laura M. Gregory, partner at Sloane and Walsh, LLP said, “This is why we need to encourage people to be themselves and let them shine.” “It is like a ‘rainbow of lawyers,” together they make a beautiful picture!” Patricia Baxter, managing partner at Morgan & Akins, PLLC, explained.
Likewise, Claire E. Parsons, a member at Adams, Stepner, Woltermann & Dusing, PLLC, said, “I think if you don’t embrace this in yourself, then you aren’t offering your full value to clients. And you’re probably not having a very good time. Go for it.”
Amazing opportunities are available for those who show up authentically. That’s just as true for lawyers as anyone else.
“I am grateful for the first law firm employer to hire me after my first career in tourism. They could see that would leverage client intake, even though at the time I didn’t make that link in my brain myself,” Catherine O’Connell, principal, founder, Catherine O’Connell Law, explained. She continued, “I’m also indebted to my second corporate in-house job as a legal department leader, who hired me in Sydney for a job in Tokyo when I had no in-house experience. He saw more potential in me beyond my Japanese language skills. That first in-house job in Japan molded my career of 17+ years here and led me to more and more rich opportunities. These people throughout my career have hired me for who I am, not who I was not, and who they knew I could be. Thank you for this post for reminding me of this amazing group of past employers who are partly responsible for me growing into the law firm business owner I am now.”
Humanity Is A Rare Lawyer Quality To See More Often
Lenor Marquis Segal, senior counsel — global litigation at Hitachi ABB Power Grids, explained, “PSA: grown-ups, please stop telling all the argumentative, pugilistic, senselessly combative little kids you know that they ‘should be lawyers.’ The profession has hit its quota. We’re all full up on those types. Stop the pipeline.”
“I would love to see more humanity,” Jamie Szal, Maine state and local tax attorney at Brann & Isaacson, asserted. She continued, “On a call today, a client simultaneously handled the call and served as the personal climbing gym of his daughters. I loved watching that, and loved that he allowed that to happen on a call.”
Numerous Generalizations About Lawyers Are A Challenge
Heather Stevenson, assistant general counsel at Boston Globe Media, explained that there is an expectation “[t]hat we are boring, uptight, or all do the same things outside of work for ‘fun,’ if we have any (no golf for me, thanks!).”
Kristina Lillieneke, a senior lawyer specializing in commercial law, legal tech, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and smart contracts, is bothered when “people that I haven’t talked to for years think that I want to help them with all sorts of legal matters for free.”
Jamie-Leigh Brandes, legal counsel at CMC Markets, observed that the generalization is “That we are serious, stern, and aggressive.” She continued, “A sense of humor and empathy will get you far in law!”
Labels are dangerous. One of the first lessons we give our children is not to judge a book by its cover — to be open to meeting people and judging them as we learn more about them. But in the workplace, and especially in the legal field, we have yet to fully learn this lesson ourselves. Too often, we are reduced to stereotypes by nonlawyers and reduce each other to rigid classifications within the profession.
This gets in the way of our work and our ability to bring our full selves to work. Let’s get a little more creative in how we think about the professional roles we can play and what we, as humans, can bring to any job. And while we’re at it, let’s be a little more open-minded in how we view ourselves and each other, as lawyers and as human beings.
Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security. You can follow Olga on Twitter @olgavmack.