What comes to mind when you think of lawyers having shapes?
Don't worry, it isn't anything to do with physical body shapes or dance moves!
Shapes are used to describe a lawyer and the breadth and depth of their skills and expertise.
Using shapes to describe a lawyer might be new to some. It takes a bit of visualisation, but it makes sense when you think about it.
Let's have a look at the most common shapes used to describe lawyers.
I-shaped Lawyer
(Photo by Anto Fredric on Unsplash)
I-shaped lawyers have brilliant traditional skills suited to the profession, such as negotiation, problem-solving, effective communication, and an analytical mind.
Think of the letter I and its shape. Its long and narrow, like a straight line.
But the downside of this is exactly that - its straight and narrow. This means an I-shaped lawyer will have brilliant legal and analytical skills, but might not be so hot on the skills and awarenesses that modern lawyers in this day and age need in order to be a more complete lawyer and a more complete professional. Like they have blinkers on when it comes to extra skills that make a good business professional.
From my experiences, this reminds me of my time at undergrad university where I was learning the law from an academic perspective, such as case law and statutes and statutory instruments etc, but not so much about the practicalities of a career in law or how to apply the academics to a practical situation like incorporating a limited company
The I-shaped lawyer has been phased out now in favour of what you'll see below. It is a sign of the times given that lawyers are having to do much more now - not only be legal advisors, but also be able to advise on business issues, personal issues, keep on top of general admin, be innovative in the way they work and offer services, and be good leaders for colleagues and clients.
T-shaped Lawyer
T-shaped is a phrase used to describe someone who has a good breadth of knowledge, and a depth of expertise in one particular area.
T-shaped lawyers combine deep legal expertise with a solid grounding knowledge and awareness and understanding in one or more other subjects, which could include technology, data analysis, politics and more.
The T shape is a combination of the traditional skills and deep subject knowledge expertise (represented by the I), and a grounding in other subjects or skills (which makes the horizontal bar at the top of the T).
As we know, clients demand and expect more and more from their lawyers, often for the same or a lesser price than the usual fees for a lawyer's expertise. So having that extra skill or knowledge makes a T-shaped lawyer particularly attractive to a potential client looking for a cost-effective solution and not wanting to be thrown from pillar to post when searching for answers to their question.
For instance:
Technology - a lawyer who is able to use technology can offer a cost-effective and efficient service to clients. Faster because, say, a chatbot can ask questions regarding general admin provisions, which means the lawyer's time is freed up to cover the more technical points that require critical thinking that a bot or a AI just can't do.
Business - a lawyer with knowledge and understanding of the business world or the industry in which a client operates will be able to advise that client much better because they know the world in which the client lives. Like a conveyancer keeping track of the changes in stamp duty over the years, including the Stamp Duty holiday for first-time buyers during the COVID-19 pandemic since last year, or an estate planner keeping on top of changes to Inheritance tax and the Nil Rate Band for clients wanting to reduce any tax liabilities on death.
The profession is seeing an influx of niche boutique firms offering services in just one practice area like employment law or property litigation, or firms that are trying to become market leaders and so are moving towards horizontal integration (jargon buster). It will mean lawyers having to wear a number of different "hats" in the early stage of the life of the firm. Therefore T-shaped lawyers need to have project management skills, good interpersonal skills, good leadership skills, and be able to collaborate with lots of different people such as accountants, financial advisors, landlords, management companies etc.
I'd look at T-shaped lawyers a bit like I would when comparing an undergrad law degree to the LPC.
Whilst the undergrad law degree teaches the academics, the LPC teaches the practicalities of being a lawyer and teaches the skills that are needed for an aspiring lawyer to become a good trainee, good lawyer, good business owner and even more.
The vertical bar is the academic knowledge, and the horizontal bar is where you can visualise the skills such as interviewing, drafting (claims, meeting minutes etc) or subject knowledge such as technology or how to program a chatbot, an understanding of the business world, how the political landscape can impact the advice and services you can offer, etc.
This image from ie Law School might give you a better visualisation of the skillset that makes up a T-shaped lawyer.
O-shaped Lawyer
(Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay)
The third shape is O-shaped. The movement towards becoming "O-shaped" started with a small group of General Counsels ("GCs") who are passionate about bringing about positive change in the profession, particularly by encouraging lawyers to bring the "human" out in their work.
Dan Kayne, the GC (Regions) of Network Rail founded the programme to encourage the profession to put the same level of importance on the well-being and engagement of the team and clients as it does the technical expertise.
I first heard about the O-shaped Lawyer project after hearing Dan speak at the Legal Cheek Summer Vacation Scheme in 2020. After listening to it, it made a lot of sense in that lawyers are humans and their clients are humans as well. Strip every responsibility of work etc away from us, and what is left is a human being, and what is important to human beings can be quite basic like understanding, acceptance, connection, and these things can be at risk of being forgotten about either because a) they are so basic that we often just forget anyway, or b) because we cultivate a lawyer persona or a business owner persona or any other kind of persona that is separate from our own private family and social lives. Its like masking to an extent in that we leave our personal problems and lives at the door when we get to work, and whilst at work we are our work personas.
O-shaped lawyers are well-rounded lawyers (hence the use of the letter O, being a round shape) who can combine the deep legal expertise and knowledge of the I-shaped lawyer, with the extra knowledge and skills that make that lawyer into a T-shaped lawyer, with a more human-centric and emotionally intelligent approach to the work, their clients and their colleagues. The mantra is "people first; then lawyers". Lawyers are humans after all!
Have a look at the visual model here:
The O-shaped framework works like this:
Open - an open mindset and willingness to step outside their comfort zone, take risks and learn from doing so. O-shaped lawyers recognise that to grow professionally, they need to work hard and embrace new ways of working. They are also open to the wellbeing of their colleagues and see this as a priority. They will create and contribute to an open environment where feeling and appearing vulnerable is regarded as a strength, not a weakness.
Opportunistic - a willingness to seek out opportunities and try new things, curiosity and willingness to explore new environments, and an acceptance that by doing so O-shaped lawyers will gain new experiences and opportunities to learn and grow. O-shaped lawyers embrace change by seeing it as an opportunity to shape their own futures and that of their employer's.
Original - the ability to think creatively to find and solve problems. O-shaped lawyers will find a working environment that supports their new ways of working and accepts that their innovative thinking may mean they make mistakes, learn from them and then try again. "We have always done it this way" is the most dangerous phrase in business because it limits change, innovation and the confidence to take risks, but O-shaped lawyers in the right environment won't be constrained by that outdated mindset and will be able to learn and find new problems and solutions.
Ownership - O-shaped lawyers want ownership of and to be responsible for the work they do. They understand the context of what they are advising on and how their advice supports the goals of their clients. They want to play a key role in a transaction and not be seen as "just the lawyer", so they will be taking responsibility for areas that may not be wholly legal in nature, but that will still be central to the advice being offered.
Optimistic - O-shaped lawyers work to find reasons why a transaction should proceed, rather than why it shouldn't. The positive approach will endear them to their colleagues and clients as opposed to taking a negative approach, such as why a transaction shouldn't go ahead - lawyers that do this risk being labelled by clients and others involved as "blockers" and likely won't be instructed very often in the future. Taking a positive approach also helps to build resilience when things don't go right, they can still focus on the good and look at the wins rather than dwell on the losses.
You can find more information on the O-shaped Lawyer project here (the programme website) and here (article on Practical Law written by Dan Kayne)
The future lawyer
At the time of writing this in January 2021, 10 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an even bigger movement towards good health and wellbeing, particularly when it comes to mental health.
The legal profession is notorious for stress levels in its staff at all levels, and the lockdowns have exacerbated existing mental health struggles in all of us, not just lawyers.
I personally believe that empathy is an essential soft skill in lawyers. Being able to understand a client's problem or the business sector they work in is essential to providing an excellent service, but it is also essential to connect, understand and make a client feel that they are valued and listened to. Humans value connection, acceptance and understanding as basic needs.
Put it this way - I don't think I could ever work in a company where the people I work with are not genuinely good people. I've worked with good people, I've worked with terrible people (colleagues and managers alike) and without a shadow of a doubt the jobs I enjoyed the most and where I performed at my best were the ones where I was working with the good colleagues and good managers.
If the COVID-19 pandemic has opened our eyes to anything, it is that vulnerability in a time of crisis is nothing to be ashamed of and should be welcomed and accepted as being a part of our lives as humans. Lives have been significantly changed, struggles have become much more apparent. I truly believe that it is up to us as humans to keep each other as well as possible. A lawyer-client relationship goes beyond that of simply keeping confidentiality; a lawyer can also be a trusted confidante as well as a trusted advisor.
That understanding and empathy towards our colleagues and our clients will go a long way towards making and maintaining good positive relationships in our careers and our lives. So I believe the O-shaped lawyer is going to become more and more in demand for employers, workplaces, colleagues and clients, if it isn't already!
We are never too busy to show kindness to each other.
Be safe and be well! :)
P
Credit: Cover image photo by MagicPattern on Unsplash
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