Future-proofing legal talent: How to recruit, develop and retain lawyers (Part II)

In this second part of their examination of strategies to recruit, develop and retain the best lawyers, Felicity Bell, Michael Legg and Vicki McNamara highlight approaches that can cultivate better communicators and leaders.

In short:

• The skillsets for ‘effective’ lawyers continue to evolve as technical and soft skills come to the fore.
• Nurturing emotional intelligence, creative thinking and cultural competency is crucial for modern law firms.
• Law firms must continue to go beyond a focus on cognitive and technical skills to champion interpersonal and human qualities.

In our last article, we introduced readers to the Personal Competencies Skillset, developed by the Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession at UNSW Law & Justice. We explained that nurturing these competencies, in both senior and junior lawyers, is central to recruiting and retaining talent in legal organisations.

In the past, the law and legal institutions have been accused of over-valuing cognitive ability (often measured by test-taking) and under-valuing a suite of other important skills. In an article from 2000, law professor Avrom Sherr noted complaints from large London firms that the English legal practice course had too great a focus on ‘soft’ skills.[1] But 10 to 20 years later, the importance of so-called ‘soft’ skills to effective lawyering was far more widely recognised.[2] In a 2011 review, US academics Schultz and Zedeck set out to identify what characteristics or skills predicted ‘effective’ lawyers. They explained that aside from cognitive skills, ‘other elements of intelligence’ such as ‘personality, interpersonal and communication skills, practical judgment, creativity… are also valid predictors of work performance’.[3] So too is emotional intelligence.[4] In a recent Canadian study of lawyers’ wellbeing, the authors identified the importance of ‘develop[ing] cross-disciplinary skills that will serve future legal practitioners throughout their careers, such as stress management, dealing with clients, emotional self-regulation, as well as time and priority management’.[5] These types of skills were also prominent in the Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession’s recent think-tank event, New Skills for New Suits: Preparing New Lawyers for Practice.

Three crucial skillsets

In Part 1, we discussed Self-management, Collaboration, Critical thinking, Judgement, Professional ethics and Adaptability. The Personal Competencies Skillset also includes Digital literacy, which we will discuss in a future article. In this follow-up article, we first discuss Emotional intelligence, Creativity and Cultural competence. We then connect these skills to effective communication and leadership.

Popularised by Daniel Goleman in the 1990s, emotional intelligence is a combination of skills and behaviours that provide the ability to recognise and manage one's own emotions, as well as recognise and take into consideration the emotions of others.[6] Emotional intelligence is not a requirement to be emotional. Rather, it is about recognising that emotion exists and understanding how it can affect relationships and decision-making. Unconscious or uncontrolled emotional responses can harm relationships and be detrimental to decision-making and advice. As a result, emotional intelligence (sometimes referred to as EQ, or emotional quotient, in contrast to IQ or intelligence quotient) includes self-regulation – control over one’s feelings and impulses. 

Emotional intelligence is important for lawyers in attracting and retaining clients and employees. Lawyering is not just delivering advice, it is understanding the client’s needs and how to deliver that advice effectively, taking account of the client’s state of mind.  EQ is key to getting on with colleagues and being able to deliver effective feedback and developing resilience. Legal practice is replete with unexpected developments and challenges that create stressful scenarios. EQ is part of being able to effectively navigate those scenarios.

As with emotional intelligence, traditional legal education has not focused on the need for lawyers to think creatively, with an emphasis on ‘analysis rather than exploration’.[7] However, creative thinking and innovation are important in many businesses, and increasingly in legal practice. Novel or innovative approaches or solutions can achieve better experiences or outcomes for clients. These are highly prized competencies that lawyers can use to enhance their reputation and gain competitive advantage. They have also been identified as factors that are important to lawyer effectiveness.[8]

Finally, cultural competency, sometimes referred to as ‘cross-cultural lawyering’, ‘intercultural competency’, or ‘cultural sensibility’, is a set of cognitive, emotional and behavioural skills that contribute to more effective professional and personal interactions between individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. Cultural competency is a necessary skill for all lawyers, not just those who are preparing to work in other countries or across borders. Modern legal practice is conducted in a multi-cultural and multi-national context,[9] and involves regular interaction with clients, colleagues and other parties from diverse cultural groups and norms (for example, ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, economic or social status, or other social groupings). The Minister for Foreign Affairs has observed that Australia ‘is home to people from more than 300 different ancestries and to the oldest continuous culture on the planet’.  Half of all Australians were either born overseas or have a parent who was born overseas.[10] Cultural competence promotes more effective communication and other interpersonal interactions, reduces unnecessary conflict, enhances client service and overall can improve an individual’s ‘lawyering skills’.[11] Moreover, this is a key part of improving individuals’ wellbeing in their legal workplaces.[12]

Stronger communication and leadership

A further benefit of developing these skills is that they assist lawyers to be both better communicators and, ultimately, better leaders. Superior communication skills are essential for a lawyer’s success and long-term effectiveness.[13] They form the foundation for building trust and rapport with clients, colleagues and others. It is important to develop these skills from the earliest stages of law school, and continuously refine them throughout a lawyer's career, as social norms and communication preferences evolve. A lawyer must consciously adapt the mode, style and content of communications depending on their objective(s) and adapt their actions for different circumstances and audiences.

This fluidity in communication styles is also a hallmark of leadership;[14] as is influencing. Yukl’s well-known definition of leadership was primarily of leadership as influencing – of objectives and strategies, the ways that those objectives would be achieved, group maintenance and identification, and organisational culture.[15] Good leaders may also act as coaches, increasing the skills of those around them through tacit knowledge transfer. This is not about the transfer of technical knowledge but about helping others to improve their interpersonal skills – such as those described above.[16] 

At the heart of leadership, therefore, are vision, strategy and influence. Leadership is about taking a team, group or organisation from one place to another, through devising a plan with clear objectives, and bringing others on that journey. Legal organisations or departments tend to be comprised of high-achieving individuals who are technically proficient, motivated and autonomous. While there are many styles of leadership, and leaders must adapt to best fit their own context, it is clear that leadership in law goes far beyond technical skills. Technical proficiency in lawyering is important for credibility, knowledge of the practice and satisfied clients, but ultimately, legal leadership is achieved through the interpersonal and human qualities discussed above.

A work in progress

In conclusion, the legal profession has made significant strides in recognising the importance of emotional intelligence, creativity, and cultural competence. Still, fully realising their impact – on retention, workplace culture, and leadership – requires continuing effort.

As the profession evolves, finding effective ways to nurture and sustain these skills throughout a lawyer’s career will be essential.

Dr Felicity Bell is the Deputy Director of the Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession (CFLP) at the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law & Justice (UNSW) and Senior Lecturer at UNSW. In addition to working as an academic, she has previously worked as a solicitor in private practice and most recently as a specialist legal advisor for state government.

Professor Michael Legg is the Director of the CFLP.  He is admitted to practice in NSW and New York and has over 25 years’ experience in private practice, chiefly in class actions and regulatory litigation with major Australian and US law firms.

Vicki McNamara is the Senior Research Associate with CFLP. Before joining CFLP, she was a practising lawyer and knowledge management and legal technology leader with more than 30 years’ experience in global and national law firms and in-house legal teams, including Herbert Smith Freehills, Woolworths Group and Maddocks.

References

[1] Avrom Sherr, ‘The value of experience in legal competence’ (2000) 7(2) International Journal of the Legal Profession 95, 96.

2 Randall Kiser, Soft Skills for the Effective Lawyer (Cambridge University Press, 2017).

3 Marjorie M Shultz and Sheldon Zedeck, ‘Predicting Lawyer Effectiveness: Broadening the Basis for Law School Admission Decisions’ (2011) 36 (3) Law & Social Enquiry 620, 625.

4 Schultz and Zedeck, 628. See John Mayer and Peter Salovey, ‘What is Emotional Intelligence?’ in Peter Salovey and David Sluyter (eds), Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Educational Implications (Basic Books, 1997); Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (Bantam, 1995).

5 Nathalie Cadieux et al, Towards a Healthy and Sustainable Practice of Law in Canada: Consolidated report. National study on the health and wellness determinants of legal professionals in Canada, Phase II (2022-2024, Université de Sherbrooke, Business School) 36.

6 John Mayer and Peter Salovey, ‘What is Emotional Intelligence?’ in Peter Salovey and David Sluyter (eds), Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Educational Implications (Basic Books, 1997); John Mayer, Peter Salovey and David Caruso, ‘Emotional Intelligence – New Ability or Eclectic Traits? (2008) 63 (6) American Psychologist 503, 506-507. See also Christine Kelton, ‘Clients Want Results, Lawyers Need Emotional Intelligence’ (2015) 63 Cleveland State Law Review 459, 467.

7 Nickolas James and Rachael Field, The New Lawyer (Wiley, 2013) 300-302.

8 Marjorie M Shultz and Sheldon Zedeck, ‘Predicting Lawyer Effectiveness: Broadening the Basis for Law School Admission Decisions’ (2011) 36 (3) Law & Social Enquiry 620, 630.

9 Andrea Curcio, Teresa Ward and Nisha Dogra, ‘Educating culturally sensible lawyers: A study of student attitudes about the role culture plays in the lawyering process’ (2012) 16 University of Western Sydney Law Review 98, 100. 

10 DFAT, Australia in the World - 2025 Snapshot, 1-2 https://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/international-relations/australia-world-2025-snapshot 

11 Jatrine Bentsi-Enchill, ‘Client Communication: Measuring Your Cross-Cultural Competence’, The Canadian Bar Association>Publications and Resources (Website, 29 September 2014) https://www.cba.org/Publications-Resources/CBA-Practice-Link/Young-Lawyers/2014/Client-Communication-Measuring-Your-Cross-Cultural. 

12 See, eg, Asian Australian Lawyers Association, NSW Branch, Cultural Diversity Pilot Outcomes Report 2022; Nathalie Cadieux et al, Research Report (Final Version): Towards a Healthy and Sustainable Practice of Law in Canada. National Study on the Health and Wellness Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada, Phase I (2020-2022, Université de Sherbrooke) 320.

13 Marjorie M Shultz and Sheldon Zedeck, ‘Predicting Lawyer Effectiveness: Broadening the Basis for Law School Admission Decisions’ (2011) 36(3) Law & Social Enquiry 620, 630.

14 Esther Cameron and Mike Green, Making Sense of Change Management (Kogan Page, 6^th ed, 2024) Ch 4.

15 Gary Yukl, ‘Managerial Leadership: A Review of Theory and Research’ (1989) 15(2) Journal of Management 251, 253.

16 Ann Langley and Laura Empson, ‘Leadership and Professionals: Multiple Manifestations of Influence in Professional Service Firms’ in Laura Empson (ed) The Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms (OUP, 2015) 163, 168; Herminia Ibarra and Anne Scoular, ‘The Leader as Coach’, Harvard Business Review, Nov/Dec 2019.