As lawyers, we’re trained to analyze, critique, and spot risk — skills that serve us well in legal practice but can backfire in everyday communication. In professional relationships, networking, and leadership, these lawyerly habits often hinder connection rather than build it.
Key traps include leading with skepticism, listening only to respond, over-explaining, and defaulting to debate. Instead, lawyers can strengthen relationships by practicing curiosity, listening deeply (so-called “level-two listening”), and showing empathy before offering comparisons or corrections.
Moreover, brevity is often more effective than detail outside the courtroom, and thoughtful outreach — like sending follow-ups or condolence notes — helps build trust rather than feeling “salesy.”
Ultimately, knowing when to “take off the lawyer hat” and show up as a human — curious, kind, and open — is essential. Being a lawyer when it counts and a human the rest of the time will help you become a more effective leader, advance your career, make successful transitions, and build stronger client relationships.
To read my article in the ABA’s GPSolo eReport, click here.