Law and Leadership

The concept of leadership is a broad topic, and its very definition has generated a veritable
cottage industry of commentary. The Handbook of Leadership (4th edition) currently
identifies 1,500 definitions of leadership. Although the more connoted usage associates
leadership with power or position, most experts view it the context of relationships and
values.

Leadership learning is developmental and sequential. Schools of medicine, law, architecture

and social work are incorporating leadership valued education and there is a new work
between the interstices of the professions. Ordinarily, we do not associate leadership with
law, but some of the great legal jurists have been leadership thinkers as well. From founding
father onwards, law has equipped people to dominate public leadership roles. Where rule of
law predominates, there will always be those who are trained to read, write, practice the law
and lead.

View of leadership is expansive. Leadership can occur in legal institutions such as law
schools or in socio economic organizations. It can also occur in the public sector or private
sector or the non-profit sector. It can occur in traditional institutions or new ones created by
new leaders. It can lie in finding solutions for an existing agenda of issues or defining a
whole new agenda. It can occur in policy or in politics. The leader can be a person of mind
whose ideas seek ultimately to affect action.

In the legal fraternity more often than not lawyers are seen as wise counsellors as opposed to
wise leaders. Through their qualification lawyers are not schooled in core corporate skills
such as accounting or finance. Instead they operate in a world where risk and ambiguity is
frowned upon, they rarely work in large teams and decisions cannot be made without first
reviewing copious amount of paperwork. In fact, a noted priority of a good corporate lawyer
is to minimize losses as opposed to maximising profit. While avoiding risk may be highly
adaptive when performing the role of lawyer, as it can help clients avoid making mistakes
and getting involved in costly litigation, it is likely to undermine leadership capability.
Anecdotal evidence however shows that these stereotypes are not entirely justified.1

A study by Dr. Larry Richard, an expert on lawyers behaviour, held that, on average, lawyers
displayed the following key behavioural traits distinct from the general population.2
1
Ben W. Heineman, Journal of Legal Education , Association of American Law Schools, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 596-
614, December (2006).
2
Gordon Owili, The Australian corporate Lawyer, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp 28, (2016).
• Low in ‘Sociability,’ sociability is defined as a desire to interact with others as well as their
comfort level in forming new, personal relationships.
• Low for ‘Resilience’ or ‘Ego Strength,’ a term used to describe persons who are protective,
resistant to feedback, and hypersensitive to criticism.
• High for ‘Urgency,’ Characterized by impatience, a desire to complete tasks quickly, and a
sense of urgency.
• High scores on ‘Autonomy,’ Lawyers "avoid being controlled, bristle at being told what to
do, and treasure their independence," according to the study.

Deriving that when compared to the general population, lawyers are less sociable, resistant to
new ideas, have a high sense of urgency and could be easily discouraged by setbacks. This
could put lawyers at a disadvantage in terms of leadership and management responsibilities.
Ofcourse, generic tendencies do not correctly predict individual behaviour, and lawyers who
rise to positions of leadership may have profiles that are better suited to that position.

In a study conducted, by Deborah Cantrell on Yale law students, nearly 50 percent of those
surveyed five years after law school stated that they attended law school to engage in the
intellectual challenges of the law or to enter a career in public service. Similarly, in Deborah
Cantrell's study of Yale Law graduates from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, 665 responders
identified the factors that were most important to them. Heading the list were "interesting
work," "challenging work," "work had a significant impact," and "work beneficial to others."
3

In the contemporary profession, the disconnect between what you do and who you are exists
for many. The Study of Yale Law graduates shows an incongruence between the factors
lawyers considered important in their careers and the actual presence of those factors in their
work.

A life of values is central to professional satisfaction and that one way to live a such life is to
be the client, not just serve the client; to set the course as leaders and practical visionaries, not
just provide advice and practical wisdom about what the course might be. Such leadership
can be progressive and tough-minded, visionary and effective, humane and realistic. Deep
personal engagement, the deep expression of one's self and one's values, can come from the
ultimate responsibility and accountability for an institution or organization or school of

3
Career Development Office, What Yale Law School Graduates Do: A Summary of CDO's 5th Year Career
Development Survey, Classes 1996-2000, October 2005.
thought that matters.4 This also does not let us assume that the "best and the brightest lead”
nor that they will succeed if they do. That comfortable assumption born and has died many a
times.

Lit Review

1. Paula Monopoli And Susan Mccarty, Law And Leadership ; Integrating Leadership
Studies Into The Law School Curriculum, Ashgate Publishing Limited, ISBN
9781409484721, Published 2013.

This book written by Dr McCarty and Paula Monopoli is one of the first to examine whether
and how to integrate the theory and practice of leadership studies into legal education and the
legal profession. Interdisciplinary in its scope, with contributions from legal educators and
practitioners, the book defines leadership in the context of the legal profession and explores
its challenges in legal academia, private practice, and government. It also investigates
whether law students need to study leadership.

4
Id. 1