The Value of Emotional Intelligence to Legal Practitioners

There has been a traditionally held notion to the effect that emotions and emotional responses have no place in the legal profession, for reason that tapping into one’s emotional data distorts impartial and rational legal reasoning.

Consequently, it is common to find legal practitioners who are totally disconnected from their emotions; the resultant effect is that legal practitioners score lower than the general public in their level of emotional intelligence due to this traditional, stoic and puritan view that emotions are best jettisoned from legal analysis; Thus, the idea of Emotional Intelligence (EI) has hitherto been discouraged, however, it is pertinent to point out that legal practitioners have no qualms about routinely engaging in anger-related emotions such as frustration, disagreement, outrage, contempt, dislike and hostility, and often inappropriately. Moreover, emotions like fear are employed by legal practitioners as a tool to motivate other subordinates, whilst they avoid sad emotions such as grief, sorrow, disappointment, suffering or regret.

Similarly, legal practitioners often express discomfort in talking about feelings and emotions with their clients and this is where legal practitioners get it terribly wrong, for reason that the lawyers who are of this flawed notion are missing out on the inherent benefits that come from having a developed EI. Such legal practitioners are not giving themselves the supplementary advantage and benefit that comes with a high Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ). Therefore, it is most necessary that legal practitioners begin to appreciate how to maximise the use of their emotions, in addition to how such emotions can positively influence their actions as well as positively influence and enhance their careers as legal practitioners. Thus, the major components of EI which legal practitioners must take cognisance of are selfawareness, self-management, social-awareness and relationship-management.

Additionally, there is equally the defective idea that strong and sound analysis be advanced in place of emotions, and this notion has seemingly thrived in the legal profession. There cannot be the slightest doubt that sound analysis does, indeed, bring various forms of legal success, however, this should not in any way, shape, or form serve the flawed narrative that legal practitioners do not need to develop their EI skills as a result of the existence of strong analytical skills; to my mind the two are mutually exclusive. Accordingly, Professor Chris Guthrie stated: “Lawyers are analytically oriented, emotionally and interpersonally underdeveloped”.

Emotional Intelligence as relates to legal practitioners refers to the ability of lawyers to process emotion-laden information and employ the result of such processing in order to better appreciate and resolve client issues and other legal issues. Accordingly, it is that ability of a legal practitioner to recognise and manage both his/ her emotions and that of the client or any other party in a manner that increases the intrinsic value of his/her proficiency as regards a given client instruction or legal scenario. Furthermore, Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) is a measurement of emotional intelligence, that is, that ability, capacity or skill to perceive, assess and manage the emotions of one’s self, clients others and groups. EQ incorporates the ability to empathise and work with others, and manage their emotions even while under stress. Hence, It has been stated: “IQ gets you through law school, but EQ gets you through your legal career”.

In recent times, the practice of law no longer merely entails just an appreciation of intellectual legal concepts, but embraces how the law affects people- clients and colleagues alike, and that stirs up a huge range of emotions. Legal practitioners work with people continually within their firms, with clients and with other parties. They constantly deal, persuade, talk and negotiate with people and often times these people are under some kind of stress, be it emotional, financial or personal. Thus, legal practitioners with high IQs, but low EQs, are unable to relate effectively with clients as well as the people they work with and cannot handle stress as constructively as legal practitioners who have taken the time to develop their EQ. Accordingly, it is the considered view of the writer that EQ radically enhances the ability of a legal practitioner to negotiate, convince, influence, build loyal clients and even limit liability claims as the case may require. On the other hand, a lack of EQ, especially in modern times, certainly has a negative effect on the capacity of legal practitioners to execute a range of intellectual and social undertakings. Consequently, here are 4 ways in which legal practitioners can practically improve their EQ:

Increase awareness of your emotion:
As a legal practitioner, you must learn to recognise your own feelings by taking a step back from them. In other words, it is that ability to observe an emotion and the reaction it produces within you that will set you on the path to being an emotionally intelligent legal practitioner. Therefore, practice identifying your emotions and their real triggers. E.g. you may find that the emotion of anger that you often feel may result from frustration or self-doubt. Accordingly, it is important that legal practitioners take reflective breaks in order to identify regular-patterned emotions, determine their cause as well as decipher the response they elicit. This action serves as a catalyst for a legal practitioner to heighten his or her EQ when done regularly and especially when confronting demanding or intense situations.

Manage the emotion(s) you become aware of:
As a legal practitioner once you become aware of the emotion you are dealing with, it is most prudent that you determine the ideal way to express that emotion, to whom it should be directed and to what extent- if at all -it should be expressed. It is critical that as a legal practitioner, you learn to restrict your emotions to the extent that they are useful and find ways to stop negative feelings escalating unnecessarily. Thus, it is important that as legal practitioners, we work on managing our feelings to avoid any form destructive communication; it is equally important to know which feelings are appropriate to express in a particular situation, and which are better kept private. Thus, the idea being postulated here is that as legal practitioners, we should learn to control our emotions and not merely suppress them.

Discern the instant emotion(s) of clients, colleagues and others:
As a legal practitioner, It is imperative to fully appreciate that communication involves a lot more than what is being said. Hence, empathy can be developed through listening carefully and observing clients’ and colleagues’ body language and facial expressions in order to accurately discern their instant emotions. The point being made here is that as legal practitioners we should make the effort to learn to read non-verbal cues in the eyes, voice tone and body positioning of clients, colleagues and even judges with whom we communicate with in different circumstances. Consequently, client interviews can be used as a tool to gain information not only about facts but also how your client feels about such facts, as well as mastering the art of discerning the emotions that underpin your opponents’ actions.

Influence others’ emotions as you become aware:
As a legal practitioner, it is important to understand how you can harness or diffuse emotions in others to elicit specific responses, minimise conflict and build trust between clients, colleagues and others. Appreciating these skills advances the consolidation of client relationships in addition to bringing out the best in co-workers. Therefore, it is important that as legal practitioners we deepen our connections with other people, develop the ability to empathise, to talk about feelings, to listen patiently and to calm down situations where necessary before discussing pertinent and pending issues; all these are best achieved when we make a conscious effort to fine-tune our mindsets towards a heightened EQ.

Having elucidated the ways that legal practitioners can heighten their EQ, it is also prudent to state some of the advantages of such heightened EQ: higher productivity resulting from improved judgment, enhanced business development and client relationships, heightened ability to manage a firm’s people and assets if need be, more effective team building and most importantly an added and extra edge over competition. Fittingly, it is asserted by the writer that a legal practitioner’s development of their EQ can lead to career advancement as well as better client and work relationships. In addition and bearing in mind that the average legal practitioner spends more time interacting with people than reading and arguing cases, human relations training in the form of EI might be a necessary addition to the current law school syllabus, such that law students can be professionally trained to better understand their emotions and the needs of their clients before they even set foot into the legal profession.

In conclusion, the writer asserts that a high level of EQ helps legal practitioners interact with their clients, as well as enhances the ability to sympathise, discern and detect necessary information if and where need be. It will equally enable legal practitioners read the emotional disposition of the clients they are dealing with in order to better appreciate their concerns. Legal practitioners with a developed EQ make better day-to-day decisions about everything from the best course of action for their clients to how to get new clients. Clients need legal practitioners to listen to them, be empathetic and communicate clearly, and to understand their emotions and how those feelings are impacting their decision-making. Furthermore, the ability to identify through abilities-based assessment those associates and partners who are best able to deal with their own and others’ emotions should prove useful in improving law firms and law department management. Therefore, it can be safely emphasised that legal practitioners who take into account all factors, including emotions- theirs and their clients’- will ultimately be the ones with more successful and rewarding legal careers. Therefore, with a bit of brain-training legal practitioners can and should improve on being the unemotional products of the traditional law system, for the advancement of their careers as a whole.

“Law is human interaction in emotionally evocative climates. Any lawyer who can understand what emotions are present and why, is at a tremendous advantage”- Peter Salovey.

Source: This Day News