Managing and understanding yourself

1. Introduction

This part of Fit for Law gives you the opportunity to think about how you exercise your judgement, know your limitations, take on responsibility, deal with stress and reflect on your work. Its fundamental premise is that acknowledging and regulating emotion and factoring emotion into your work will enhance your legal practice and your wellbeing, both of which are important to ensure a healthy legal profession. This video shows a variety of legal professionals giving their views on why these issues are important.

Why you need to be Fit for Law

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STEPHANIE BELL

I think as a starting point, thinking about the legal profession, it is inherently a stressful, responsible, difficult, fast-paced job. And that is part of the reason people who do the job are attracted to it. The stress, the excitement, the buzz, that is part of what we like about the job. But I think that those are also things that can have a significant impact on your mental health if you are not looking after yourself or if things go wrong or if the people around you aren't helping you to look after yourself.

KAYLEIGH LEONIE

In order to work the most effectively you can in practise, you need to understand what you need in your life to be healthy, both physically and mentally. And if you can understand your own personal triggers, you can work more efficiently. You can get on better with your colleagues. And you can generally be happier at work.

KHYATI JOSHI

We are human, too, on the legal professional side. And we are often in a position where we are told problems all the time, because it's our job to resolve problems. So you're always in a position where everyone, every day, comes to you and tells you, this is my problem, cries, argues in front of their partner in the office. [CHUCKLES] That's how human you are, infected by it. And you would have to absorb that negative energy and sort of convert it into a positive energy and seek solutions to their problems.

PAUL NEVIN

Having an understanding of well-being in your working life is very important because we spend so much time in work. I do not live to work, but despite that, I spend an awful lot of time working. I spend an awful lot of time in terms of actually sitting at a desk working. And I also, both in healthy and sometimes unhealthy ways, think about work when I'm not there.

Sothinkingaboutwell-beinginworkisthinkingaboutwell-beinginyourlife,really,becauseifyouhavegotwell-beingdifficultiesinwork,you'recertainlygoingtohavethemathome,becausewhensufferingstressoranxietyinworkandnotusingcorrectcopingmechanismsornotdealingwithstressproperly,certainly--Icanonlyspeakformyself--butthatcomeshomewithme.Thatbleedsintomypersonallifeandaffectstherecharge,Isuppose.Itaffectsmyabilitytorechargemybatteries,asitwere,toenjoymyself,torefreshmyselfonmyholidays,toallowmetogobacktoworktobeproductive.

AMANDA TIPPLES

Barristers, doctors, solicitors, accountants, we're all professionals and inevitably high-performing individuals at whatever level you're working at. And to be able to perform at that level, it's really important to stay well or be well. And that's what well-being is all about. And you need to understand that in order to carry on your job and do well.

Andifyou'renotawareofwell-beingandtheconsequencesthatmayhaveonyoureverydaylife,thenyouriskbeingaffectedbythestressesandstrainsofaprofessionaljob.Andyouhavetoberesilient,andresilientmeansbeingabletocopewiththosestressesandstrains.Soit'sreallyimportanttobealivetotheissuesaboutwell-being,tolookafteryourself,andalsotolookoutforothers.Andthatisreally,reallyimportant.

PATRICIA WHITE

Delivering legal services is a very stressful vocation. And it's important that we as professionals, whilst meeting our obligations, also take care of ourselves and make sure that we exercise, we rest well, and we also have a nutritional balanced diet to keep us fit and healthy to be able to meet the extremes of the profession.

VLAD VALIENTE

We spend a lot of time at work, sometimes a lot more than we do with our families and friends, and recognising that during the day, we're at work. And at night, when we're tired, et cetera, we're going home and having dinner. We deal with the things we've got to deal with, and back to bed, and then repeat it all over again. So we spend the majority of available day within work. So it's important that we're able to have the right environment so that, in essence, we are not dreading going into work.

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You may find some of the sections cover areas of emotional competence you already have strengths in, others might cover areas you find more challenging. When you see a section you are good at, it is worth noting this down as a key strength. When you find a section you feel you need to work on, you should note this as a developing area and try to identify some short-term goals to help you improve on this. In other words, create your own personal development plan.

You could do this using a notepad and pen, or a word document, or even a notes function on your phone or tablet. The important thing is to ensure it is kept somewhere safe and secure where you can read it back at a later date. For example, if you are struggling with confidence, you can look over your key strengths to get a better perspective on your abilities. When you are feeling able to improve, you can work towards improving your developing areas to upskill yourself (perhaps using your Continuous Professional Development allowance).

2. Exercising your judgement

As a legal professional, you are likely to have to exercise judgement in a wide range of situations, from selecting which sub-section is most likely to apply in a dispute, to deciding what to wear for an important meeting, to considering how to word a letter of advice to a client. Exercising judgement is also needed in a range of other legal workplace scenarios: From deciding whether to advise a client to issue a claim, to considering whether to run something past a more senior member of staff, to debating when to take your annual leave.

The commonly held view is that because legal practitioners must exercise their judgement in a reasoned and objective way (“thinking like a lawyer”), they must ignore and disregard any forms of emotion as irrational and misleading. This is largely based on a view of emotions as primitive evolutionary throwbacks (sometimes referred to as a “basic emotions” view). This is a popular view in Western societies which effectively views your thinking processes as a form of hierarchy, with emotions at the bottom, needing to be firmly suppressed by the cognitive functions of reason and rationality.

In fact, in recent decades, research in neuroscience and psychology has demonstrated that the relationship between emotions and cognition is much more complex than this, with the two effectively being intertwined (there are several different theories regarding this, but a key one is known as “appraisal theory”). What this means is that we cannot separate out and ignore our emotions as they are an integral part of the way we process information, react to situations and make decisions and judgements. This applies in our working life as well as our personal life.

Neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio (2006) gave a clear illustration of this when he discussed the case of his patient, Elliot, who had brain lesions which left his intellect intact whilst seemingly destroying his capacity to experience complex emotions.

Emotions and decision-making

At the end of a session with Elliot, Damasio wanted to organise the next appointment

Elliot looked at his diary and could see several available dates. However, trying to decide upon a particular date and time turned into a 30-minute deliberation by him.

He had no form of emotional response to guide his decision and therefore was unable to choose. This demonstrates that emotions underlie all our decisions, no matter how big or small.

The rest of this section will focus on how to identify and understand the emotions you experience in such scenarios and explore how to incorporate these into your judgements and regulate them appropriately.

2.1 Identifying and understanding different emotions

Considering what’s under the surface

As this diagram demonstrates, it is not always easy to identify which emotion you are experiencing. You may think you are feeling one particular emotion, but there may actually be a number of different emotions contributing to your experience. If your reaction to an emotion is to “think like a lawyer” and try to ignore or rationalise it, the likelihood is you will only identify what’s on the surface. This can lead to you misunderstanding what’s happening and missing valuable information and cues, as demonstrated by the following examples.

This video of occupational psychologist, Dr Rajvinder Samra, explains more about how identifying and understanding emotions can impact on your work.

Emotions in the workplace

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RAJVINDER SAMRA

Identifying and understanding emotions are really important in the workplace, because emotions from our personal life can spill over into our work life and vice versa. So it's key to understand what they are and where they come from.

In the first instance, it's useful to think, what am I feeling, and label that emotion.

And secondly, in order to work out what the cause of it is, think about, when did it start and what triggered it? And that might help you work out if it's from something that happened at home or something that happened at work.

It's really important for legal professionals to understand the role of emotion in the workplace, because they have specific demands on them. The time pressures are extreme on legal professionals. And so that lends itself to not examining your emotions. You don't have time for it, and suppressing them. But it's key to remember that if you just take a minute here to process that, you can save time further down the road, in which case, unattended emotions can wreak a bit of havoc on your workplace, on your health, and career.

Also, there is the perception in law that emotions are the complete opposite of the rationality and objectivity you need in law. But in reality, all humans experience emotions, so that's quite unrealistic, that perception. So there needs to be an acceptance that emotions will happen in the workplace.

Incidental emotions are one of the two types of emotions you might experience in the workplace that can have effect on decision making. They're generally emotions that aren't useful for the task at hand. They might come from your personal life, for example.

In the first scenario, the anxiety about not submitting a document on time is an example of an incidental one, because it's not useful for the client encounter.

And also, the guilt at not visiting a relative is an example of incidental emotion. So it's important to recognise that these aren't really useful for what you're doing now. And have some strategies in place to deal with that. For example, if it's not relevant, try to put it aside in your mind. Try to park it. You can always come back to it later. In fact, you probably will.

And also, there are always emotions that might feel overwhelming, such as anger and frustration. And if they're incidental emotions, not relevant, it can be harder to deal with those. But think about distracting yourself. If you have music or a video that will cheer you up, just take you out of that place, maybe just spend one minute on that, and do something that completely takes you out that space.

There are also-- if an emotion is useful for your work, it's relevant, it's called an integral emotion. And it's useful to pay attention to that. It can help improve decision making.

Integral emotions, they come about from thinking through a situation and its implications. And they're useful for workplace decision making. For example, if you're thinking through a decision of something you're going to do at work, and it's resulting in a lot of anxiety, anxiety is a sign that danger is lurking. So generally, it might mean that you need to be more risk averse with this decision, rather than risk taking, and you have to be cautious.

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This video gives examples of how one legal professional has learnt to acknowledge her emotions.

Acknowledging emotions

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PATRICIA WHITE

It's important not to suppress the way that you feel about a situation and to address that because otherwise, certainly, it can lead to mental health issues where you suppress your emotions. And that's what I would regard as being emotionally competent. I think where a situation perhaps arises where you have a family upset or a family situation to deal with and you have to then carry out your work on a normal basis and be professional at all times. So it's really about managing how you feel personally and then adapting within the professional role to be able to put that to one side.

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2.1.1 Some practical tips

Some practical ways you can develop your skills in identifying different emotions include:

	Building in a pause. If you think you are experiencing a particular emotion, don’t push it to one side. Instead, spend a moment to try and work out why you are experiencing it and what might lie underneath it. This does get easier with practice!
	Reflecting after the event. If you experience a strong emotional reaction don’t just forget about it. Make a mental (or even written) note of it and set aside a few moments in the following 24 hours to think about what influenced it.
	Developing your terminology. Spend some time learning more about different emotions, so you have the vocabulary to identify what you are experiencing more easily. A good starting point is the Greater Good Magazine published by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley which contains a lot of information on different emotions (and other related topics, including a quiz on emotional intelligence.
	Getting input from others. Talk to people who know you well, such as family, friends or even a close colleague. Often they will have a different insight into which emotions you are experiencing and why.
	Sleep on your feelings: Sleep helps us learn and process our learning. If you are unsure what you are feeling, come back to the situation after a day (and a night’s sleep!) and see if that helps you process what emotions you might have experienced.

It may be that becoming more aware of your feelings makes you realise that you have been suppressing some uncomfortable, even distressing, emotions. This might particularly be the case if, for example, you are involved in a difficult or harrowing matter (which can lead to your experiencing vicarious/secondary trauma) or your work-life balance has been slipping.

Often, identifying and reflecting on these can make them more manageable and easier to regulate. It may also make you aware that they are providing valuable indications that you need to reassess parts of your workload and/or your approach to it. However, if you feel like these emotions are becoming unbearable (sometimes called distress intolerance) there is detailed guidance to help you work through this.

Don’t let things get overwhelming

2.2 Incorporating and regulating different emotions

Once you can identify and understand the emotions you are experiencing, the next step is to utilise these skills in the way you work. A common misconception about emotions amongst legal practitioners is that, if you admit to having emotions, they will all come flooding out (a sort of variation on the floodgates argument often found in tort!). This isn’t the case. Your emotions are there whether you acknowledge them or not, but spending more time identifying and understanding them, and their impact on your work, will actually help you to regulate them more appropriately. This video gives some examples of how individual legal professionals have found emotional competence helpful to them.

Using emotions appropriately

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PAUL NEVIN

What I would say about emotional competence and examples of emotional competence for me, certainly what it means for me, is understanding or recognising your own thoughts and feelings. There was a time in my life that if someone had asked me how I felt, I wouldn't be able to identify the feeling. So if I was obviously angry about something, I couldn't name the feeling anger. I couldn't admit to that feeling.

And it's hard to know whether that was denial or just a lack of self-awareness or whatever was going on. But it was certainly true. So I would say today at almost any point in any day if you ask me how I feel about something, rather than telling you what I think I should say, I can honestly tell you how I feel.

You know, and that could be I feel good, or it could be I feel uncomfortable, or I feel anxious or scared. And I think life has taught me that, again, we're all human. Everyone's human. We all have these thoughts and feelings. And they're rushing around all of the time.

AMANDA TIPPLES

From a very personal perspective, I think it's understanding sometimes why you may be feeling under pressure, you may be feeling stressed out and recognising that within yourself and then being able to take a decision based on that. Now, I'm no expert at these things. But I know in recent times I've had experiences, for example, a bereavement, which is a life experience that I'd never had to deal with before.

But it took me quite a long time to understand why I was feeling-- the way I was feeling, it was having impact on decisions I was taking at work. But when I'd actually figured it out in my own mind, and it's something which took me days to figure out, it made me realise that I wasn't actually ready to go back to work. And I think that's probably a very personal example of emotion management on my part.

VLAD VALIENTE

I'll give an example. I'm Latin, my background. And I would suggest that a lot of my natural instinct would be to react in a Latin way, which may be loud and may be potentially seen as aggressive.

And I've got to recognise that and I've got to tailor that and temper it in the right way. And so that's kind of self-control and regulation, to recognise that in the lay situation that might be OK. But in a professional business and teamwork type scenario, it's probably not going to be the right approach.

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By regulating our emotional responses, we mean managing them in a way which ensures they remain within an appropriate zone or window of tolerance without becoming too intense and over-whelming (known as dyscontrol or hyperarousal), but also without seeking to suppress or ignore them (known as dissociation or hypoarousal). It is the latter that the culture of legal practice sometimes seems to promote.

The zone of tolerance

Take five minutes to look back at the example you selected in Activity 1. You may be able to think of ways in which you could have regulated your emotional responses in the scenario to handle it more effectively or healthily. For example, if you had thought about a client interview and identified that you had found it difficult because the client had seemed uncomfortable and unable to explain their position clearly, you might find it useful to think about what emotional cues you presented to them in your speech and body language and whether you had made any effort to empathise with their situation.

The following diagram provides a useful checklist for considering how to incorporate and regulate emotions, but you may wish to adapt it to suit your own legal workplace and ways of practicing.

If you run through this checklist regularly, you may begin to see that there are key patterns or themes that emerge. For example, some legal practitioners report that they find time management challenging. This can lead to feelings of stress and anxiety, which in turn may regularly influence the emotions they experience in a range of different workplace situations (the type of “incidental emotion” referred to above).

If you do identify any key themes or patterns, then there is a need to address these to enable you to regulate your emotional responses more effectively and focus on working with your valuable, integral emotions. In other words, you need to explore the root cause of your reaction. For example, in the case of time management, it may be that there is a need to discuss reallocating some of your work load, or that you need further administrative assistance, or that you need to take other practical steps (such as using a more effective reminder system to help you prioritise) to alleviate the issue and avoid it skewing your emotions in an unhelpful way.

Alongside considering your emotional responses, it is also valid (in fact, important) to consider your own emotional wellbeing, and that of others involved in the situation. If you are finding yourself or those around you increasingly pushed out of the zone of tolerance, this is something you need to address. This will be discussed further in section 4.

This video of occupational psychologist, Dr Rajvinder Samra,explains more about incorporating and regulating emotions in the workplace.

Regulating emotions in the workplace

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RAJVINDER SAMRA

Legal professionals can incorporate emotions in the workplace by first accepting that they're there. Even when you're thinking rationally and cognitively, a normal human reaction is it will give rise to emotions. So it's important to recognise that. It's also important to understand that the emotions can help you in workplace decisions. And so the emotions that we experience at work, they tell us about what we like, what we don't like, and they help us prepare and strategize for the future.

For example, if you're going to have a meeting with someone and you always feel anxious beforehand, that emotion might be telling you something about that person, that meeting. You might find, I don't really like meeting with them because they're rude and unpredictable. And then you know to yourself, I need to work with that. What can I do to deal with this emotion?

Maybe spend a minute doing something to take you out of that negative mind space before the meeting. Maybe arranging something after the meeting where you can let off steam with someone who understands the situation. But that emotion was therefore useful in strategising for future interactions and lessen the negative effects.

There are a range of helpful strategies that you can employ. One of them is positive refocusing, which is doing something that puts you in a good mood and focusing on distracting yourself. Another one is planning, looking at a negative event and thinking, what can I do to avoid that happening again and plan better for the future? And the other one is positive appraisal, which is looking at something that didn't go well and thinking, what positives came out of this? Did I learn something? Maybe I learned not to irritate someone in a particular way. But I'm sure that there's something good that came out of it.

Situation selection is about deliberately choosing activities or situations that we know will put us in a good mood or lessen a negative mood. So for example, you might have heard of walking a scenic route to work or doing something at your lunchtime you really enjoy. And that's to change your mood, and that's an example of situation selection.

The benefits of this type of emotional regulation is that it's very easy to do. It's not very taxing on the brain, so it's easy to put in place. But another one is that it's deemed to work because it allows an individual to exercise autonomy and choice in their work life. And it can be used in your personal life, too which is great for when you do feel overwhelmed and you feel like you have no choice.

In order to put this in practise, the first point of call would be maybe to look through the negative strategies that someone might be using and identify, yes, I'm using those, and they're not that helpful. And then going through the list of positive strategies and thinking which ones you actually do use, because you probably use some of them, and they'll be successful for you.

So working out what your preference are is a good starting point, and then, after that, I think the next thing is to practise a positive one. So for example, positive refocusing before a meeting, doing something that makes you feel good, watching a funny clip, or listening to one minute of music just to put you in a good mood when you know the meeting is going to be tough. And so just going through and practicing a positive strategy is a really good way to introduce this into your work life.

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3. Knowing your limitations

Understand when to stop

One of the many useful functions different emotions can perform is acting as a form of “early warning signal” (Zautra, 2006, p.9). Often this “signal” will take a similar form each time you experience it. For example, you could get irritable, angry, argumentative, tired, feel ill or feel less caring towards, or interested in, others.

This type of "signal" is particularly relevant in legal practice when you may be given tasks or expected to perform in ways you find uncomfortable or challenging. For example, as a trainee solicitor or chartered legal executive, or pupil at the Bar, you may be faced with a client demanding immediate advice on a topic you have not previously researched in detail. In many legal roles, you may be expected to perform managerial tasks which your training did not equip you for (such as supervising and/or leading others).

Listening to your emotional response and understanding the signal it is providing can help you to think about whether or not you are competent to take on a task or role. If you aren’t competent, the consequences can be significant for both you and others involved.

You may also want to think about the "early warning signals" of those around you, for example, your manager, supervisor, support staff or other colleagues. If you can identify these "signals" it will help you understand when that individual is under stress, help you avoid taking their reaction too personally, and also encourage you to be aware of when that person may need some form of additional help and support.

To be able to put your emotional response in context, you need to think about whether you do have the competence to take on what is being asked of you.

The following video discusses the importance of acknowledging and understanding your limitations.

Acknowledging your limitations

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KHYATI JOSHI

But not to rush yourself and say, I haven't done it, or compare yourself to other people who are much more advanced in their careers. No. Just take it at your own pace. Understand what your weaknesses are. Identify them. And then know when you face it next time how to handle it. For instance, say that the client has come in today, and she says the visa expires on 20th of August. Today is the 17th. Time is a problem. You haven't any documents. You haven't got the money. You've just told her how much her fees are.

[LAUGHS]

If you're done with the application, she has no leave to remain. And then home office would be like, well, you had the client come into your office. Why didn't you put the application in time? So knowing that, advise the client. These are the steps to take. These are the steps to take. This is how you can take them. By this time, give me these documents, and these are our fees. Consider it and give me instructions by this time.

Communicate it well, clearly, and be in control of how you want to proceed. But that comes through time. That comes through experience. And it will allow you to build more. But there's always more. You've never reached a pinnacle of mental well-being in the legal profession, because you will always come across situations on a regular basis that would challenge you mentally and professionally. But that's a good thing. That means that we're always progressing, and progressing positively.

PAUL NEVIN

It's tempting, certainly as a lawyer, probably in all jobs, to try and put across that you're competent in all things, and you're fast, and you're efficient. If you come across like that at the start with a client, their expectation of you is going to be that the very complex legal matter that they just brought to you that has probably existed for a couple of years unresolved can be dealt with in five minutes, and you're only going to let them down.

So I suppose in those circumstances, I try and practise-- I under-promise and over-perform, I suppose, to put it in a trite way, rather than over-promising and under-performing. So if I think I can have something done by tomorrow, and tomorrow is Wednesday, I will often tell the client, I'll have that to you by Friday, because that allows for the unforseens. That allows for me finding something in the transaction that is complicated, or intervening events, or other people that were conflicts. And then you meet your deadlines. And I think that helps with matters that you could otherwise see as being underperformance.

PATRICIA WHITE

Well, it does, because I have to know my limits. And I have to be able to acknowledge and realise when I get to a point of potentially taking on too much work, and therefore identify when I have to outsource that work. So it's important that I know myself and my limitations, particularly emotionally and also physically, as well, because I need to make sure I get plenty of rest to be able to get up the following day and deal with the challenges ahead. So it's really for me, as a sole practitioner, to be able to identify when I need to call in someone else to assist me.

AMANDA TIPPLES

In terms of practical tips, I think one of the most important things is the ability to say no and learning to say no, because it's through that that you have the ability to be able take control of your work and your work-life balance. Now, I speak from experience in relation to this. And it's something which I think often takes some time to learn.

I, for my part, only learned the ability to say no after about eight years in practise. And I'll just say briefly how that came about. So as a junior barrister. and no doubt as with all junior barristers, I was anxious to do well. I was anxious to impress, to get new cases, get instructed on bigger cases. And I was working late. I was working weekends, every weekend.

And one Friday evening, one of the senior members of chambers came into my room and said, what are you still doing here? And I said, well, I've got this case for so-and-so and this case for so-and-so, and I'll be working all weekend. And he did look to me and he said, this is madness. You're letting yourself down. The solicitors don't care. They just want the work turned around. And it's for you to decide how much you want to do. You don't need to do that many cases.

And of course, as we all know at the bar the worst thing you can do is do a case badly. So it's really important to do the work really well and to turn it around as requested, but you don't have to do every case. And once you've said no, what you then learn is, actually, people will wait for you. Not always, but often. And if they won't, well, it's no point doing the case in a rush, because that is disadvantageous anyway.

So I did learn to say no. And it is incredibly liberating, because once you know you can say no and that people will actually wait for you, you realise that you can manage your diary, and you can actually have your weekends. And it is so important. So that's my main and I think crucial practical tip, is it's a really important way to be able to take control. And actually, it takes some confidence to be able to say it. But once you've learned to say it, it really makes a difference to your life.

KAYLEIGH LEONIE

Particularly for junior lawyers at the junior end of the profession, they are more likely to be receiving work from several different work streams. They may have several different partners giving them work. So the individual has to take responsibility for workload from several different streams. And that high level of workload and the high turnover of work they're required to do can put a significant amount of pressure on individuals.

Individuals need to be much clearer with their managers when they're being put under too much pressure to have the confidence and the culture to be able to speak up to say that they're feeling under pressure, and that they need more support and resources to be able to meet the deadlines that they've been given.

STEPHANIE BELL

I think criminal barristers' expectations of what they should deal with is quite unreasonable what we expect ourselves to deal with and what we expect other people to deal with. So I've had two occasions when a client is physically gone to attack me while I've been in a conference with them. But because I was young, I didn't want to make a fuss, the case is nearly over. The guy pleaded guilty. I just had to get through the sentencing hearing.

I knew that if I withdrew, I wouldn't get paid for the case, because that's the way legal aid works. I just put up with it and went back into a room on my own with him. And I look back on that I think, what was I thinking? It's a process of always making these little decisions. And I think criminal barristers often take it on themselves to do the thing that makes life easier for everyone else: for the judge, for the your client, for your lay client, for your professional client, for your clerks.

If your clerk is cool with another case and they say, can you take this case on, you want to help out. You want to be seen as someone who is a high achiever, who has a can-do attitude, who can take anything that's thrown at them. And you do have to be like that to do the job, and there's a great sense of satisfaction that you get from getting to the end of that day, having handled a load of cases, and done them well, and done a good job for your clients.

But on the other hand, it's extremely difficult to say no. And that has a very detrimental long-term-- those little decisions, those little choices you make have a really significant impact on the well-being on the way you see yourself, your confidence.

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The following diagram provides a useful checklist to help you consider your limitations, but you may wish to adapt it to suit your own legal workplace and ways of practicing.

3.1 Communicating about difficult issues

If you aren’t able to take on a role or task, or cannot agree to something else that is asked of you, for whatever reason, it can have a significant emotional impact. It can lead to feelings of guilt, worry and anxiety, as well as a sense of embarrassment. For example, imagine you are a legal executive in a personal injury department and your manager asks you to undertake a residential conveyance for a client as a personal favour. You may feel anxious that refusing will affect your annual appraisal or promotion prospects or you may feel guilty about “letting down” a colleague. You may even feel that admitting you don’t know your leasehold from your elbow (!) is a sign of weakness.

There is evidence from legal professionals that admitting to issues around mental health and wellbeing, or indicating that these may affect your work, can also lead to a strong sense of stigma and shame or be interpreted as a sign of weakness.

It is important to identify and understand these emotional responses and to assess whether these are grounded in reality or whether they are being magnified or skewed because admitting issues or limitations is something that you find difficult, or that your legal training has led you to believe it is not something that legal professionals do. When you have had time to reflect on this, it can also be very useful to plan your communication strategy carefully. The following questions (adapted from Holmes, 2015, based on the Giving Voice to Values curriculum) can help with this:

• What factors/approaches have enabled you to communicate issues or limitations in the past?
• Whose interests are affected (and how) by what you are going to say?
• Who are you going to communicate with, how and in what context?
• What is putting you off communicating your issues or limitations?
• How might you reframe the issue so that you feel more likely to act (bearing in mind the factors/approaches that have helped in the past)?
• What might happen if you do not communicate this information?
• How might not communicating affect you and any other parties involved?
• What are the possible responses of the person you are communicating with, and what would the motivation be for these?
• What are the most powerful and persuasive responses you can think of to use?

When you have thought about these questions, take any opportunity you can to practice what you want to say with family, friends or a supportive work colleague. This will give you confidence that you can communicate clearly and also help you to regulate your emotional responses to the situation. This video of Senior Lecturer in Mental Health, Dr Mathijs Lucassen, provides you with some practical tips on regulating your responses.

Regulating your emotional responses

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MATHIJS LUCASSE

There are a few practical tips that you can employ in terms of managing your emotional responses in a face-to-face situation, there will be times when you'll be stressed or overwhelmed. Maybe emotions will be running high, and that's normal. What's a bit difficult in a face-to-face context is that people can read your cues. People can read your reactions, and you may want to manage those in a way that comes across in the most professional manner.

And the first tip I'd give is about breathing and being able to slow down your breathing. I know it sounds quite straightforward because people are breathing all the time, but when you're stressed or overwhelmed and having emotional feelings that are quite intense, your breathing is usually more superficial and is faster. And so it's just physically slowing it down and breathing in through your nose, and then holding that breath, and slowly breathing out through your mouth. This is something you can't really do when you're speaking, because I just did it now, and it sort of looks a bit strange. So it's one of the things to be doing and being really careful about in the gaps in the conversation, when you're not speaking.

And another is about your body, and how you position your body, and your awareness of your body, because grounding yourself in a particular situation can be really helpful. So physical strategies that you can employ are things like just wiggling your toes, being aware of where your body is in relation to your seat, if you're sitting down noticing where you're bearing the weight if you're standing up, if you're sitting down, it's just physically being present in the actual space in the room.

And the other is to be mindful about things like volume. And if you're talking louder and louder, that's usually a sign that you're getting distressed about something. Plus, also, the speed of your speech. Your speech will get quicker, generally, if you're more distressed. And so it's being aware of those and just consciously trying to slow things down.

And the last tip I would give is things that you can tell yourself, important messages, mantras that you can employ that will help you get through. So they'll be personally meaningful. They can be things like, you know, I'm a good person, I've been able to cope with challenging times before, and, this time will pass. I mean, it's true because this challenging moment that you might be in right now, or a challenging moment that you foresee in the future, it won't last forever.

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Dealing with this type of situation effectively will also help develop your professional resilience as you begin to become more comfortable with communicating in this way and ensuring your needs are acknowledged.

3.2 Dealing with mistakes

For many legal practitioners, a mistake is seen as a type of failure. The sense of letting yourself and/or others down can be difficult to handle. There may also be worries over the practical impact of your mistake (including, in some cases, the potential for disciplinary proceedings and/or negligence claims). This video demonstrates how a number of individual legal professionals' handle mistakes and difficulties.

Coping with mistakes and difficulties

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PAUL NEVIN

I have got a very good boss in the Marine consulate, who said to me many years ago when I started, everyone makes mistakes, but what I want you to do is to admit them. And that's scary at first, but liberating, ultimately. Because you don't sit and suffer alone, if you like. It lets you share stuff.

And almost always, when I have admitted a mistake or admitted that I don't understand something in the legal profession, the other side that I'm dealing with says, well, actually, I feel the same. So I'm dealing with a transaction with another solicitor who, I think, is far superior, far more qualified, far more intelligent than me, understands this particular piece of law so much better, and I'm not getting it.

And sometimes I just lift the phone and say, I don't really get this. And they say, and, well, it is tricky. I'm not so sure of myself. And that, I think, the ability to do that, to admit your weakness, becomes a strength.

AMANDA TRIPPLES

In relation to factors which affect barristers; I'm a civil practitioner, and that's probably what I'm best placed to speak about, although I think it applies to all areas of the bar. First of all, in terms of individual characteristics, many barristers are perfectionists. We are high achieving individuals. We a people who are used to doing well. And we put a lot of pressure on ourselves in terms of our performance.

Now, as a self-employed barrister, many people say, oh the old expression is, you're only as good as your last case. So something hasn't gone terribly well, it's very easy to blame yourself for that. Now, things don't go well for all sorts of reasons. You're a litigator; litigation is notoriously uncertain. Witnesses didn't come up to scratch. A document is disclosed you're not expecting. All sorts of different things can happen.

And actually, it's unlikely to be your fault. But it's very easy to take the blame and think it's you. So that's one issue. And it's very important to be able to see the bigger picture and be able to move on from that. Obviously, one's continually learning in terms of performance. We learn throughout our lives. But just because something hasn't gone well doesn't mean that's your fault.

So perfectionism and looking to do well all the time, I think creates a really big problem. And secondly, there is the demands of modern working life. So continual emails, requests from solicitors or clients in relation to aspects of a case. And I think it's the inability sometimes to be able to say, actually, I'm out of the office at 7 o'clock at night or out of the office after 5 o'clock at night. And not put your phone on one side and let that distract you.

Because, as we all know, if you read an email at 10 o'clock at night with something you don't want see in it, you just don't sleep very well. So that really does have an impact. And be able to create your own boundaries is a really important way of being able to deal with that. But I think that's another factor which puts pressure on people, and it makes-- unless you know how to deal with it or have a coping mechanism for dealing with it, you really-- that will affect your well-being.

STEPHANIE BELL

I think finding people who you can talk to honestly and having someone more senior who you have a relationship with so you can call them-- and it's something you need to do all the time when you're junior. But then, even as you kind of become more senior, it's always useful to have someone to talk things through with. An ethical issue, if you think you've made a mistake, or if you think that there's something that you could have done better, be able to talk it through with someone. That's incredibly valuable.

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The simple reality is that everyone is going to make a mistake every now and then, what is key is how you deal with the situation, and also what you learn from it. This blog post from The Law Society of England and Wales gives useful advice which can be applied to most legal professionals

There may be some sectors of the profession, for example, if you are self-employed, a sole practitioner or a member of the judiciary, where you have limited support from others. If this is the case, you do need to think about whether you can identify anyone to act as a form of (formal or informal) mentor to assist when such issues arise or consider obtaining guidance from your regulatory or professional body perhaps.

In terms of emotional competence, it is important to think about how you regulate your emotional responses to avoid being overwhelmed by negative feelings. Instead of (or after!) panicking, take some time to calm yourself down, process your emotional responses and then focus on how to tackle the issue to develop a solution-oriented approach. Often taking some time to calm down allows you to think about situations more clearly and to identify the correct way of dealing with issues that have arisen. This is likely to involve apologising, speaking to others involved and trying to identify a solution. This video of Senior Lecturer in Mental Health, Dr Mathijs Lucassen, gives some practical tips on handling these issues.

Dealing with your emotional responses

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MATHIJS LUCASSE

I can think of three practical responses in terms of managing our responses when we've made mistakes. And the first of those is around thinking about this in context. So you've made a mistake. We're all human, and we'll make a mistake. There will be something that you've done wrong.

But how are you likely to feel about this in a week's time, I in six month's time, even in 10 year's time? If you think about this mistake or this failure in that sort of context, it can help put it into perspective, particularly if you're feeling really raw and challenged about it in the moment. The other is also about catastrophising, which is a type of cognitive distortion. We may warp our thinking about something. The mistake might feel like it's career ending.

But really, it's worth asking yourself, is this the end of your career? Is it the worst thing that's possibly happened to you? What is the worst thing that can happen as a result of this mistake?

It's not uncommon to ruminate, or to keep thinking about the mistake, and to sort of beat yourself up about it. But this is often not especially useful. What's more useful is to think about this mistake and what you might be able to learn. So it's lessons to learn from the mistake.

You may be able to minimise the mistake, as it's just recently happened, if it's recently happened. If you can't minimise the negative impacts of this mistake, what's really useful is to think about the lessons you've learned as a result of this. Because as I said, we're all human. You will make mistakes. This is just part of the human condition, and it's being able to learn from there and to move forward.

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In terms of professional resilience, the concept of a “growth mindset” can be valuable in this situation. Dweck (2017) argues there are two forms of mindset (ways of thinking about yourself). The first is a “fixed mindset” which assumes that you have a fixed intelligence, personality and character which you simply have to accept and live with. This leads individuals to constantly to seek to prove themselves – to demonstrate that they are smart, funny, loyal and so on. They may avoid challenges or chose not to put in effort (“what’s the point if things cannot change?”).

The alternative is to adopt a “growth mindset” and view these things as works in progress that can be developed and cultivated through your efforts and the support of others. Dweck argues that “… everyone can change and grow through application and experience” (2017, p. 4). This leads to individuals embracing challenge and putting in effort to improve themselves. This is only a very brief introduction to the theory (and in some situations feeling you have to constantly strive to improve yourself could be very unhealthy). However, the idea of a “growth mindset” can help when tackling mistakes or, as demonstrated by the following video, when managing rejection.

Managing rejection

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KHYATI JOSHI

I have not let rejection get the better of me. I have not let that diminish my confidence or let that value my credibility. And therefore, I have pursued obtaining the rights of audience, if not through the bar, then through CILEx regulation. Have a positive mindset and know that you want to achieve, you want to do better, and you will, with time.

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Adopting a growth mindset

Scenario 1

It’s Monday morning and you are about to go to court…

You think – “This will be stressful, but I’ve done my prep”.

You do – Walk into court right on time outwardly appearing very calm.

You feel – Nervous, but also a bit excited (because of the challenge ahead).

Versus

You think – “I’ve been preparing all weekend, but I can’t cope with this, it’s too much for me”.

You do – Get a coffee and wait in the cold some distance away from court.

You feel – Increasingly panicky and down.

Scenario 2

It’s 4pm on Wednesday afternoon and a senior employee asks you to review four boxes of papers for 9am on Thursday…

You think – “I must show I can do this, I don’t want to look like I’m not committed.”

You do – Work until 1.30am and come back into work for 7.30am to finish off.

You feel – Tired and worried that you’ve missed something.

Versus

You think – “I know I can do this, but I need the time to do it properly”.

You do – Speak to the senior employee and negotiate a revised timescale for lunchtime on Thursday, leave the office at 7pm and come back at 8.30am.

You feel – Confident and better rested.

In each of these two scenarios, a fixed and growth mindset approach to the same problem has been outlined. You can see that the fixed mindset response may be about covering up perceived personal flaws or weaknesses and protecting yourself from shame and failure. This is based on the mistaken belief that you cannot improve or grow from the challenge.

The same scenario can give rise to a more productive growth mindset approach in which the stress or challenge can be handled and individuals may develop or grow as a result. The alternative growth mindset response also demonstrates a “reframing” of the problem. This is a powerful technique where we think differently about a problem and engage with it instead of allowing it to block our way.

4. Handling responsibility

Get the balance right

Legal practice can sometimes feel like a balancing act between giving your clients the best advice and assistance possible, but also ensuring you are avoiding putting you and/or your employer at any risk of liability if things go wrong. You may also be experiencing pressures relating to chargeable hours and billing targets. Sometimes balancing the conflict from these different roles, responsibilities and pressures can be challenging or stressful.

Additionally, the more responsibility you take on, the more worry this can cause and the more decisions you will have to take. It is important to be able to handle this process in an emotionally and psychologically healthy manner to help you find an appropriate balance and handle your responsibilities well.

Section 2 of these resources demonstrated the role of emotion in judgement and decision-making. It is important to acknowledge and utilise this when it comes to taking on and handling responsibility and balancing your obligations. This checklist can help you do this:

In practical terms, a key part of handling responsibility can be ensuring that you are organising and managing your time appropriately and maintaining an effective work-life balance This video gives some practical tips from legal professionals on getting the balance right.

Organisation and balance

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PAUL NEVIN

Practical tips for looking after health and well being, I would say, I've got one very simple one. And it would come, again, from a self-awareness and a self acceptance. And it came a little difficult to me. But I, in my working day, would always try and-- sorry, would always expect 100% of myself, let's say between 9 and 5. As a more self aware and self accepting individual, I realised that is not possible. So my tip for legal professionals would be to have a think about your day between 9 and 5, a general average normal day, and think when you usually perform best.

So in my own example, I seem to perform best in the early morning and then again in the very early evening. In between, which is unfortunate, as I work 9 to 5, I'm not as sharp. And so if I've got difficult and complex stuff to do I will table that into my day the first thing in the morning or after 5:00 in the evening. And it sounds like a very simple thing, but it has released me from the self criticism of trying to tackle something difficult at 3 o'clock in the afternoon when I'm starting to flag.

PATRICIA WHITE

Yes, I do have some practical tips. As a sole practitioner, it's important, certainly for me, to be able to find time out and realise when I need to have that time out, even if it's only to break up the working day, maybe perhaps an hour, to go for a walk, get out of the office, get some fresh air. It's important to make sure that you look after yourself.

In perhaps a larger organisation, where people are working together, it's important to be able confident to say no. And one of the reasons why it's important is because we have professional obligations. And therefore, if we feel that we are approaching an overload, we need to be feeling confident to be able to say no. And that provides the opportunity, then, for respect within the profession and also a warning sign for the employer to make sure that they can support the employee.

AMANDA TIPPLES

My other practical tip is that it is crucial to maintain a life outside the bar. It's really important to have a hinterland which is beyond work. And in terms of what one does or how you achieve that, even if it's going from a brisk walk, having dinner with a friend, making sure that you have a meal with your family regularly, it's crucial to actually maintain that. Go to the theatre with a friend. Go the cinema.

All of these things are really important because, although it may sound trite, the most important things in life do not happen at work. They happen outside work. And we all know that. But it's making sure that you maintain your interests and you see your friends and family and make time to see them. And of course, it's that which is a really crucial part of ensuring resilience and keeping yourself happy and healthy in order to carry out your job.

KAYLEIGH LEONIE

My top tips to support your well well being in private practise would be to set yourself non-negotiables. So for example, I like to go to the gym a couple of times a week and I like to get to bed at certain times. And if I let those non-negotiables lapse or I let them fall away, then I find myself being under increased pressure. And I don't get that break I need.

I also try to leave the office every day for a break, whether that's just a 10 minute walk around the block at lunchtime. And I also like to switch off from my phone and from my work laptop. So regardless of how busy I am, I don't take my work phone into the bedroom. I leave it downstairs. So I've got a good break before I go to sleep to unwind and relax and not think about work until the following morning when I pick it up again on the way to work.

VLAD VALIENTE

I understood through very wise people before me who have mentored me and coached me that work isn't everything. Yes, we spend a lot of time there. And you've got to enjoy your work to lead a healthy working life. But recognising that there's a lot more to work and that in a way is a means to an end. And we have to work, absolutely. We recognise that. So you might as well be somewhere that you enjoy. But ultimately, if your family life or other things come to play, they might have to be prioritised. And that I think is very important.

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5. Dealing with stress

Stress is a common part of all legal practice. In fact, that is not an intrinsically bad thing. There is evidence that a certain amount of stress has an important role in motivating individuals at work and assisting them in working more efficiently. This probably explains why many lawyers will state that they “work better under pressure”.

One way to visualise stress levels is to think of an inverted U shape. The top of the inverted U represents the optimum level of stress for performance and productivity. Once you begin to traverse down the side of the U, the danger is that your stress levels are becoming too high and may begin to have a negative effect in both your work and personal life. Research convincingly supports the inverted U-shaped curve hypothesis about stress and performance, with studies showing that, after a certain point, stress impairs cognitive performance (Lupien, Maheu, Fiocco & Schramek, 2007).

There are a number of tools you can use to identify your current stress levels, including this questionnaire

This video gives some suggestions from legal professionals on handling stress.

Handling stress

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PAUL NEVIN

Some people can deal well with stress, for example. In fact, some people seek it out and thrive on stress. They see it as a positive thing. Whereas others at the other extreme can buckle under stress. And I would say that some stress is good and some stress is bad.

STEPHANIE BELL

But what can people do for themselves? I think it's just being kind to yourself and keeping an eye on yourself and knowing that often what's expected of you is not reasonable, is not normal, and don't lose perspective of what is. I think that's very difficult, especially if you're ambitious and you love the job and you want to take every case that comes your way. But you might pay the price later on with your mental health or just with your ability to cope.

And so not having expectations of yourself and not thinking that everybody else is fine, which is what tends to happen at the bar. You think someone's fine until you realise that they're really, really not. And I think that's something that we need to identify in ourselves and in our colleagues, if there are warning signs about behaviour, about how you're feeling. And give each other the space to get better.

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5.1 Other mental health issues

Although stress is possibly the most common issue which individuals experience in legal practice, there are a number of other potential issues that can arise. It is important to be aware of these, so that you can identify when you (or a colleague) may need to obtain further help and support. Some of the most common issues include:

• Anxiety (intense, disproportionate and/or distressing feelings of worry)
• Depression (low mood impacting on daily life)
• Vicarious/secondary trauma (the negative psychological signs and symptoms that can result from on-going involvement with traumatised individuals)
• Burnout.

Unlike stress, where a certain amount can be beneficial, burnout is bad. It’s often the reason why people gradually become ineffective and then leave certain professions. According to one of the most well-known burnout researchers (Maslach and Jackson, 1981), the three components are:

1. Emotional exhaustion (anxiety, irritability, loss of appetite, fatigue, insomnia);
2. Cynicism and detachment (not caring, depersonalisation, reduced empathy);
3. Feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment (reduced or low productivity, poor performance).

Recent evidence indicates that females may experience higher levels of emotional exhaustion than males and they may experience emotional exhaustion as their first warning sign of burnout (Houkes, Winants, Twellaar and Verdonk, 2011). In contrast, males may experience higher levels of cynicism and detachment than females and may experience this as their first warning sign of burnout. So how you experience burnout may differ depending on your gender (and other factors).

First-hand accounts of legal professionals dealing with some of these issues are available on the LawCare website. This video explains when you may wish to consider seeking further support.

Considering further support

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MATHIJS LUCASSE

Legal professionals should consider getting help for emotional issues for mental health issues when they're noticing an impact on their functioning and/or their sort of general well-being. It can be difficult to reach out for help, and people generally wait for things to become quite severe before they'll get any assistance.

But two things to look out for will be your general functioning. How you are doing in terms of work outputs and functioning in terms of your relationships and outside of work as well. And just in terms of overall emotional wellness, it can be hard for the person themselves to identify this. And that's where friends and family members can be especially helpful.

I think what becomes really tricky is making that first step. Most people, when they're accessing help for an emotional problem or for their mental health, will do so through their general practitioner or through primary health care. And your GP is a good person to start having that conversation with, because they have expertise in terms of mental health, but also because they can help you access services.

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6. Becoming a reflective practitioner

In the Introduction section to this part of this course, we suggested that you make a note of some existing strengths and developing areas as you worked through these materials. If you did this, well done! If not, you were probably applying the common technique which legal professionals use of scanning large volumes of information to extract key points as quickly as possible. Unlike in professions such as teaching, traditionally legal professionals have not been taught to build-in time for self-reflection. However, this is gradually changing with Continuing Professional Development requirements in many parts of the profession requiring this skill.

What is self-reflection?

There are different types of reflection, including “reflection-in-action” and “reflection-on-action” (Schön, 1990). The former concerns how you think and deal with situations while you are in them. The latter is about looking back on what happened afterwards, to see what you can learn about it for the future (as you have done in the activities in these materials). It is this type of experiential learning which this course is encouraging in relation to emotional competence and professional resilience more generally. One way to picture this is as a cycle (based on Kolb, 1984 and Maughan and Webb, 2005):

Figure 9

Of course, you should not reflect on your emotional responses in isolation, you also need to factor in what your thoughts and actions were as well. However, within the legal profession, it is the reflection on emotions (and, by extension, wellbeing) which is probably most likely to be ignored or skipped over, despite the evidence of its importance.

This reflective way of thinking may come more easily to some legal professionals than others, but it can become ingrained through practice. This video demonstrates the importance of self-reflection in your professional life, and the challenges it can involve.

Self-reflection in practice

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STEPHANIE BELL

Emotional intelligence is the ability to reflect on how you're feeling and how it's impacting on what you're doing. So, for example, if you're feeling very anxious about another case, then you go along and you have a meeting with a client, you have to be aware of how you feel when you go into that meeting and to regulate your emotion, so you're able to engage with and connect with the person who you're seeing because you're often discussing very difficult things. You're giving advice.

Your client needs to feel listened to. And they need to feel that you care about their case that you haven't got this more important thing you've got on tomorrow or some QC in chambers who's putting pressure on you to do some work for them. And that's what really matters to you. Clients need to feel and they deserve to have your full attention and your full ability. So there's the ability to recognise in yourself how you're feeling. And sometimes, you can't change how you're feeling. But you can bear in mind in your interactions with people.

PAUL NEVIN

So I don't think there is one type of healthy legal professional. However, I would think there would be traits that would be common to all. And from my perspective, I would say that would be self-awareness. I think self-awareness is invaluable. But, of course, self-awareness on its own can be torturous because certainly from my own point of view before I really looked at myself, I thought that I wasn't a bad bloke. I wasn't that bad. I was quite a decent bloke. But when I had an honest look at myself, some of the ways I operated in relationships and things like that left stuff to be desired.

And I think that's all right. I think that's human. And so with self-awareness has to come self-acceptance. And I think when you reach a place that you accept yourself and you can be happy enough with yourself, warts and all I suppose as Cromwell would say, that's a healthy place to start from because you can admit your limitations. You can admit your mistakes.

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The final activity in this part is designed to help you practice reflective thinking over the next few weeks.

There is no final comment on this activity, because we hope it won’t be the end of your thinking around emotional competence and professional resilience. Well done on working your way through this part. You can access the other parts of the course resources About the Authors  and Additional resources as well as joining the on-going conversations at #FitforLaw and in our Fit for Law Facebook group.

References

Acknowledgements

Images used on the course

Scales Of Justice – Fit for Law logo: Lawcare Ltd.

Media Headlines: TFA/Lawcare Ltd. Image based on: Team Emotional Intelligence: How to Avoid being a “Quarrel of Lawyers” (Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, 2016)]; Emotional Intelligence: What can learned lawyers learn from the less learned? (The Barrister Magazine, 2013); Taking soft skills seriously (LexisNexis Future of Law Blog, 2015); oft Skills in a Hard Market (Counsel Magazine, 2016); City law firm brings in emotional intelligence training to ward off threat from robots www.legalcheek.com, 2016); Loving legal life: empower yourself with empathy (The Lawyer, 2018); Lawyers given lesson in how to show their soft side as they face robot competition (The Telegraph, 2016)].

Open Book illustration: © Pinkpant | Dreamstime.com

Pros and cons figure: nasirkhan | 123RF Limited.

Dancing Heart and brain render: © FabioBerti - Can Stock Photo Inc.

Anger iceburg: ©2018 The Gottman Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Emotional Strength cartoon: Baloo -Rex May. © CartoonStock Ltd. 2018 All Rights Reserved.

The Zone of tolerance: Bacon, T. Dr (2016) Emotion Regulation: Managing Emotions. Based on materials developed for The Resources Group: An Emotion Regulation Skills Group. NHS Fife.

Know your limit: © 2007 Mike Bannon www.mordantorange.com

Businessman adjusting cufflink: CHAjAMP | Shutterstock, Inc.

Messy Office Desk: Image by Oliver Menyhart from Pixabay.

Money on her mind pound symbol: DJTaylor | Shutterstock, Inc.

Emotional self reflection: Lawcare Ltd.