Despite the litigious and growing digital nature of our profession, developing soft skills is important. I wrote about this two years ago and my opinion remains unchanged.
Soft skills are social, emotional, and behavioral skills — like communication, leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, and active listening — that help us interact and work better with colleagues and clients.
Research from Deloitte Insights showed that 92% of companies believe soft skills are just as important as hard skills, and a study from BusinessNameGenerator.com found that 84% of employees and managers want potential new employees to demonstrate soft skills in the hiring process.
Even with the growth of artificial intelligence, LinkedIn’s 2024 Workforce Confidence survey found that more than 6 in 10 U.S. employees value soft skills more than ever.
When I first wrote about the importance of soft skills for lawyers in 2022, I focused on how I would use professional responsibility CLE to develop my skills in the areas of employee management, civil communication, professional identity development, stress management, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
While these are areas I still wish to grow, there are some additional soft skills I want to focus on in the year ahead.
Take a break
I am prioritizing taking breaks this year. As my colleagues at the Commission can attest, I often sit at my desk for hours without getting up, ignoring my Apple watch when it tells me it’s time to stand.
My goal of taking more breaks comes from NPR’s Body Electric series. NPR invited listeners to join a 2023 Columbia University Medical Center study that focused on incorporating movement into their sedentary lifestyles.
Evidence shows that sitting for extended periods puts you at risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and dementia. The study found that taking regular movement breaks of 5 minutes every 30 minutes counteracted the harmful effects of sitting all day.
As lawyers, we have been conditioned to sit for extended periods, whether it be in a law school class, taking the bar exam, or fielding back-to-back Zoom calls.
But when I get up and take a short break, I feel more refreshed and able to focus on the task at hand.
I will be honest, taking a five-minute movement break every 30 minutes seems unrealistic for me, so I am committing to five minutes every hour.
Check out the Body Electric guide for tips on being successful. I plan to use it too.
Focus on what’s in my control
I recently listened to podcaster Mel Robbins discuss her book, “The Let Them Theory.” Robbins is a former lawyer who now focuses on change and motivation through her books and podcast.
“The Let Them Theory” encourages us to put a stop to the exhausting cycle of trying to control everyone and everything. Instead, it asks us to prioritize what we can control and release what we can’t.
As lawyers, a lot of things are outside our control. We can’t control how a judge will rule on a motion, if opposing counsel will cancel a deposition, or if we will run into bad traffic. But we can control how well we prepare for a hearing, how we react to opposing counsel, and if we let busy traffic ruin our mood.
I hope practicing this skill will help diminish unnecessary anxiety and provide me with more time and energy. What attorney doesn’t need more of these things?
Practicing good sleep
I took a CLE on the importance of sleep several years ago and, to this day, it’s one of the best CLEs I have ever attended. The problem is that I still haven’t put what I learned into practice.
Like most of you, I could use more sleep. For lawyers, working hard is important. This often requires working long hours to produce excellent work and best represent our clients.
While this isn’t going to change, I would like to see the legal profession stop awarding a badge of honor to those who work so much that they are running a sleep deficit seven days a week.
The sleep CLE focused on neuroscientist Matthew Walker’s book, “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams.” Walker notes that a lack of sleep makes us vulnerable to conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, depression, anxiety, obesity, stroke, chronic pain, diabetes, and heart attack.
According to Walker, “There does not seem to be one major organ within the body, or process within the brain, that isn’t optimally enhanced by sleep (and detrimentally impaired when we don’t get enough).” That’s pretty significant.
Better sleep can make us sharper, kinder, and more productive, creative, and effective lawyers. I am going to work on it this year and use science-backed guidance to set myself up for a good night’s sleep.
Staying up to date on changes in the law is important, but lawyers shouldn’t forget about soft skills in creating a successful and fulfilling legal career. I know I won’t.
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