3. Knowing your limitations

This section includes:

  • Explanatory text
  • A “Questions to ask yourself” checklist
  • 1 video.

You should allow yourself 20 minutes to complete this section.

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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Transcript

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.

Questions to ask yourself

Timing: You should allow around 20 minutes for this activity

You can click on each possible answer to see ways to tackle the issue.

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Do you have the appropriate qualifications and training (for example, if you are a barrister specialising in commercial work, do you have the knowledge and skills to accept a brief in a criminal matter)?

Yes: Whatever part of the legal profession you are in, you need to know the regulations governing your work so that you can operate within these.

No: If the answer is no then you need to focus on how you can communicate this effectively to your employer, client or other stakeholders. Section 3.1 has further guidance on this.

Unsure: It is important to take time to research this, and err on the side of caution. A wrong decision could impact on your professional standing.

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Do you have the appropriate legal knowledge and understanding?

Yes: This is a great start, but might not be sufficient on its own, so it is important to answer the other questions too.

No: Be realistic – is this something you can learn to the level required in the timescale allowed? If so, do you have the enthusiasm and resources to do so? Do you need to attend a training course? If so, are there time and resources provided for you to do that? If it is not something you can learn then at this point you need to communicate that this is not something you can agree to/continue with.

Unsure: It is important to find out the answer to this question. It may help you to discuss it with a colleague, manager or supervisor, take the time to do some preliminary research online or seek some guidance from your professional body.

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Do you have the appropriate legal skills?

Yes: Having the appropriate legal knowledge, understanding and skills are all vital. Don’t forget to factor in ‘soft skills’ too and make sure you have the emotional competence to take this forward.

No: Be realistic – is this something you can learn to the level required in the timescale allowed? If so, do you have the enthusiasm and resources to do so? Do you need to attend a training course? If so, are there time and resources provided for you to do that? If it is not something you can learn then at this point you need to communicate that this is not something you can agree to/continue with.

Unsure: You may need to do some more research into the skills required, perhaps by speaking to other legal professionals, your professional body or a friend or family member who can provide you with an ‘outside’ opinion.

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Do you feel confident in taking this on?

Yes: This is a positive sign. It is a good idea to make a note of the reasons you feel confident, so that if there are times you start to doubt yourself, or worry you made the wrong choice, you can remind yourself of why you felt confident you can do this.

No: If this is a signal that this isn’t the right choice for you, then it's worth spending some time reflecting on your emotions now before making a decision. However, if your automatic response is to assume you can’t do it, then you need to focus on ways to improve your self-confidence. You may find this link useful: https://www.thelawyer.com/ increasing-self-confidence-work/ ?nocache=true&adfesuccess=1 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]

Unsure: You may find this link useful: https://www.thelawyer.com/ increasing-self-confidence-work/ ?nocache=true&adfesuccess=1

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Will this impact on your wellbeing?

Yes: If you think the impact will be positive, that’s great. If you think it will be negative, you will need to think carefully about whether any gain is worth the potential impact. If you do choose to go ahead, make a mental (or physical) note to regularly review your wellbeing (or put a scheduled reminder in a personal diary to remind you), to ensure you can ask for help before things start to feel too challenging or overwhelming.

No: Make a mental (or physical) note to review this at regular intervals so you can spot if things change. Consider putting a scheduled reminder in your diary to prompt you to think about this once the task is underway.

Unsure: It is important to think about this just as carefully as you have any of the other questions before you make your decision. Also, remember your answer to this isn’t set in stone – it is fine to change your mind at a later date.

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Does this raise any ethical issues or conflict with your personal or professional values?

Yes: Although this happens to be the final question, it is an extremely important one which should always be considered. If you have any ethical concerns or feel there is a conflict with your values, it is important you do not ignore this and discuss the situation with family, friends, colleagues or your relevant professional body.

No: Although this happens to be the final question, it is an extremely important one which should always be considered.

Unsure: Although this happens to be the final question, it is an extremely important one which should always be considered. If you have any ethical concerns or feel there is a conflict with your values it is important you do not ignore this and discuss the situation with family, friends, colleagues or your relevant professional body

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2.2 Incorporating and regulating different emotions

3.1 Communicating about difficult issues