Chapter 2: A Search for Sacred Rivers
The Attorney Personality and the Lawyer’s Soul
Just as individuals have personalities, so do groups of individuals who are engaged in common experiences or enterprises. General qualities and traits can be unique to a group just as they can be to an individual. Those who are engaged in the study and practice of law embrace and incorporate into their way of being a common set of mental, emotional and behavioral traits. These patterns are instilled within law students through the structure and value systems of legal education, and they are reinforced when the students become lawyers by the structure, customs and patterns of the legal profession. These qualities and traits are directly and subtly offered as the acceptable way to conduct oneself within the profession. Those who embrace these qualities and traits are rewarded, and those who deviate from them can often pay a high price. So embracing and developing an “attorney personality” becomes a constant goal and a consistent defining process for those who want to become lawyers.
The first challenge that new law students face is to learn how to “think like a lawyer.” They do not fully understand what this phrase means, and no one fully or accurately describes its constituent parts. Yet they are unequivocally informed that this indescribable state exists, and if they work hard and stay on the path, they will eventually figure out what it is that they are becoming. If they do not, then that is evidence that it was not the path for them. Inherent in the notion of “thinking like a lawyer” is the cardinal rule that you have to give up existing, ineffective norms of thinking and feeling in order to adorn yourself with the more privileged and effective robes for analyzing and resolving problems. This ideal is dramatically captured in the Professor Kingsfield character in the classic movie, “The Paper Chase.” Kingsfield states that the role of the law professor is to take a “mind of mush” and turn it into something more useful and valuable to the profession and the society. Most first year law students are informed that their present way of thinking is unacceptable because it does not conform to this archetype. It would be fine if all this meant was that there was a set of ideas, skills and information that students had to know before they could effectively practice this craft. But “thinking like a lawyer” involves more than just understanding the rules and thinking. In fact, it embraces a complete way of being and acting in the world. This pattern of learning and being eventually develops into a personality type that the willing student embraces. This personality type demands that one looks at problems, life and oneself in a different way. Parts of that approach are very healthy and admirable. Thinking like a lawyer demands that one is able to see problems from multiple perspectives and not just from the easy and obvious one. It also suggests that one should be able to feel comfortable with ambiguity. This is important because very few things in life and in law are concrete and fixed. Thus being able to operate comfortably with uncertainty is an important attribute for someone in this profession. In addition, thinking like a lawyer requires one to be very atomistic in the analysis of facts, evidence and rules. The “devil is in the details” is a cardinal principle of the successful practitioner of law. If one is able to master these fundamental traits and attributes then one has acquired the classic tools of an attorney at law that serve lawyers well in many situations.
However, along with these obvious skills come some subtle messages that will eventually take root in the personality of the attorney. To master these traits one is lead to believe that one must detach and remove oneself from the problem and from the individuals being served. Within the domain of the attorney personality is a fundamental belief that emotions get in the way of thinking clearly. It is believed that objectivity comes from emotional distance and will be corrupted or diluted if one becomes too emotionally connected to the client. The burgeoning lawyer is led to believe that mind is the most powerful tool needed to successfully master the discipline and serve the client. These messages result in a personality that is more rigid than flexible, more analytical than caring, more emotionally detached than sympathetic, and more self-centered than altruistic. This does not happen overnight, but becomes the unstated end game of the journey that began on the first day of law school.
There are numerous benefits to this personality type. It serves as a buffer for all of the emotional blood that gets spilled on the lawyer’s table. The personality of the attorney is a shield and a sword. It protects the emotional vulnerability that all lawyers need, and it provides a ready rationale for the lawyer when he feels it is necessary to go on the offensive. The “Rambo” style litigator is the archetype of this personality. In the courtroom he stands with the sword of his personality in hand, ready to slay those who stand in the way of his client’s victory. In the process, the sword becomes the shield, because in destroying the opponent, the lawyer protects himself from his own insecurities and vulnerabilities. War becomes love. The more this personality goes to war, the more deeply in love he becomes with this pattern of behavior. In essence he begins to define and enjoy the job based on this approach. These traits become calcified and are no longer just blueprints for success, but become hardened, stone-like personality traits that are difficult for the person to break.
Despite the enormous power and appeal of this archetype lawyer personality, experience has demonstrated that it is not always effective, and eventually takes a toll on the person and the profession. Many lawyers have come to realize that to be truly effective, they must bring all of themselves to the enterprise of law. For them, effectiveness is not just measured in status and earnings, but by the degree of real satisfaction that the client obtains. For these lawyers, effectiveness is also measured by the depth of personal satisfaction and meaning they obtain through the work performed. The mind is an indispensable tool for this level of effectiveness, but so is the soul. The soul and spirit of the lawyer is the most overlooked, underdeveloped and underutilized tool of the profession. Its lack of use, development and growth is the source of many of the problems and limitation of lawyers and the profession.
The soul of the lawyer is that part that cares for, and feels for, the clients and the profession in a deep, authentic and genuine manner. It is that boundless energy that allows us to see beyond and through problems. It is that fluid energy that permits us to not only analyze the problem of the client, but also touch their hearts in the process. The soul of the lawyer is different from the personality of the attorney because it has no fixed parameters within which to operate. It permits the lawyer to cry, laugh, hurt, pray, meditate and be in the moment of all her experiences. There is no compartmentalization in the soul. The lawyer’s keen analytical mind sits next to her passionate ear. They do not work against each other, but serve as a catalyst for each other’s growth for some of our most creative and thoughtful ideas and solutions come when our minds are still, and when our hearts have been stirred. The soul is the repository for our spiritual growth. It is the place where we can see beyond the present day limitations and burdens. It is the place that allows us to see the client not as a person with a problem, but as another soul striving to find its place in the universe. Part of our challenge, the essence of our calling, is to assist them on their journey. This is the spiritual privilege of being a lawyer. People come to us and open up the window to their souls. If we only look with our mind’s eye, then we will see only the legal issue. But if we gaze deeply, with the eye of our soul, then we shall see something more precious, and we will be able to help advance something more worthy than the judgment we might secure for them. Life is more than just the accumulation of rights, wealth and material things. It is about the overall advancement and cultivation of the individual and collective human spirit. This work is done with insight and compassion. It is done well when lawyers are able to consistently manifest spiritual values in their lives and work. These are traits and characteristics that cannot be taught, but they can be nurtured and cultivated. They can be lived, and through our living out these values, we impart them to others and we inspire them to follow the path.