Professional Documents
Culture Documents
14. “Wallowing in personal difficulties. -Oh woe is the life of a avoid obstacles and difficult
Some people let their personal lawyer. situations. But failure is not an
difficulties interfere grossly with their end, it’s just another step in the
work. During the course of life, one 11. “Misattribution of blame. Some people rode. Everyone fails, you just
can expect some real joys and some always blame themselves for even the have to learn to deal with failure
real sorrows. Maintaining a proper slightest mishap. Some always blame and not let it debilitate you from
perspective is often difficult.” others.” action in the future.
-I’d say lawyers tend not to -I’ve met a number of
have this problem as they are lawyers who seem to have a 8. ”Failure to initiate. Still others are
usually fairly emotionally propensity for self-flagellation unwilling or unable to initiate a project.
detached from their personal over minor matters. However, It may be indecision or fear of
lives at work. Where this tends to lawyers can equally (if not more) commitment.”
become an issue for lawyers is lash out at others who they -Like I mentioned
when their work becomes their perceive as having contributed to before, never wait until you’re
personal lives; which is an easy their failure. ready.
thing to do for lawyers.
10. ”Procrastination. Some people are 7. “Inability to complete tasks. For some
13. “Excessive dependency. Some people unable to act without pressure. They people nothing ever draws to a close.
expect others to do for them what they may also look for little things to do in Perhaps it’s fear of what they would do
ought to be doing themselves.” order to put off the big ones.” next or fear of becoming hopelessly
-Partners dump -There are always other enmeshed in detail.”
responsibilities onto senior things you can justify doing than -It can be awfully tempting to
associates, senior associates that which actually needs doing. write, edit, and revise
dump onto junior associates, Responsibility begins with you. continuously. Just a little more
junior associates dump onto Don’t put off that which needs time spent on the opening
paralegals. Every single one of doing. Psychology Today has paragraph, or a bit more time
the above listed probably dump a blog devoted to the topic. properly crafting the thrust of
domestic responsibilities on their yo u r a rg u m e n t – u n t i l i t ’s
partners. 9. ”Fear of failure. People may not reach midnight the day before the
peak performance because they avoid project is due. Make sure you
12. “Excessive self-pity. Some people the really important challenges in life.” keep the end goal in sight.
spend more time feeling sorry for -It can be very tempting to
themselves than expending the effort remain in your comfort zone and
necessary to overcome the problem.”
6. ”Lack of product orientation. Some people 4. “Using the wrong abilities. People may
seem more concerned about the process not be using the right abilities for the tasks
than the result of activity.” in which they are engaged.”
-“The world makes way for the -”When your only tool is a “The men
man who knows where he is going.” – hammer, every problem looks like a
who try to do
Ralph Waldo Emerson nail.” Don't get caught in the trap of
over-specialization. As lawyers something and
5. “Inability to translate thought into action. Some develop, there is a tendency to fail are
people seem buried in thought. They have narrow one's skill and abilities to
good ideas but rarely seem able to do certain sub-sections of the law and
infinitely
anything about them.”
with the broad spectrum of the law better than
-A lawyer is a knowledge worker.
Lawyers are retained and paid
and dearth of lawyers, this is those who try
inevitable. However, make sure you
because of their their knowledge and
approach a problem with correct to do nothing
experience, but also on the ability to
apply that knowledge and experience
focus and be mindful of the types of and succeed.”
to problems and provide solutions. It
tools you will need to solve the
problem.
~Lloyd Jones
can be easy to get so wrapped in the
complexities and nuances of a legal 3. “Lack of perseverance and perseveration. Some
challenge, that is difficult to actually people give up too easily, while others are
put a pen-to-paper in order to craft a unable to stop even when the quest will
solution. Take careful consideration clearly be fruitless.”
with your processes, but know when -Law is hard. It can require long
to wrap it up and take action. hours and sacrifice of one's personal
time. It can eat away at the rest of
your life. Maybe you feel like you complex and difficult ones. Take because of a lack of motivation.
were tricked into the profession the time to give the problems in What determines whether
in some way. Grow up. You front of you their due someone is motivated or not is
choose this path, walk down it consideration and not try to the stuff that fills psychology
with your head held high and speed off to the next in the name tomes and graduate courses. The
persevere despite the obstacles in of client service or billing. inner workings of someone's
your way. mind and what motivates them to
and the number one reason is... act is often a mystery - not just to
2. “Lack of impulse control. Habitual others but to themselves.
impulsiveness gets in the way of 1. Lack of motivation. A talent is
optimal performance. Some people do irrelevant if a person is not motivated Is it intrinsic or learned
not bring their full intellectual to use it. Motivation may be external
behavior?
resources to bear on a problem but go (for example, social approval) or
with the first solution that pops into internal (satisfaction from a job well-
done, for instance). External sources Are lawyers not motivated
their heads.”
tend to be transient, while internal because they might fail? Or
-This seems to be an
sources tend to produce more because they might succeed?
i ncreasi ng tendency i n the
consistent performance. After which, people will expect
O u t l o o k / B l a c k b e r r y / Te x t /
them to succeed again and again
Email/Twitter/etc world. People
Motivation: it is the single and they don't feel as though they
have come to expect such
most driving, source that are up to that task. They fear, not
immediate responses to
determines whether or not a failure, but their own success, so
p ro bl e m s t h a t o f t e n t i m e s
lawyer succeeds or fails. The they never motivate themselves
whatever is offered as the first
world is filled with bright, to meet the challenge.
solution, is seen as the best
talented lawyers who have all the
solution - which is likely to not be
skills necessary to succeed at
the case. Lawyers solve
their craft but fail time and again
problems, often times very