Credit Available - See Credits tab below.
Total Credits: 1 Alaska, 1 Colorado, 1 Delaware, 1 Indiana, 1 Maine, 1 Michigan, 1 Montana, 1 Nebraska, 1 Nevada, 1 New Mexico, 1 North Dakota, 1 South Carolina, 1 South Dakota, 1 Texas, 1 Vermont, 1 Virginia, 1 Washington, 1.2 West Virginia, 1 Wisconsin, 1 Wyoming
While naturally loquacious law professors, law students, lawyers, and judges thrive in a world dominated by the Socratic question-and-answer method and rapid-fire oral discourse, quiet thinkers and writers can be sidelined. Introverted, shy, and socially anxious lawyers often feel pressure to force an extroverted persona in lawyering, which can feel inauthentic and can engender unnecessary stress and anxiety.
This webinar first explains the differences between introverts and extroverts and the ways these different personality types process energy, information, and stimuli in the legal context. Next, the speaker will discuss important distinctions among introversion, shyness, and social anxiety, to enhance participants’ self-awareness about why quiet individuals can experience various challenges in certain lawyering scenarios. This webinar illuminates the valuable gifts that introverted, shy, and socially anxious individuals bring to the legal profession—including active listening, deep thinking, empathy, impactful legal writing, creative problem-solving, and thoughtful communication.
The speaker will focus on the impact that the “pressure to extrovert” can have on naturally quiet lawyers, including the effect on well-being. Emphasizing the power of authenticity, the program will discuss a seven-step process for amplifying one’s advocacy voice in an authentic manner, providing practical mental and physical strategies for stepping into performance-based scenarios in the legal arena with enhanced strength.
Program Table of Contents:
I. Brief Background of Speaker
• Construction Litigator for Many Years
• Law Professor
• Author
• Personal Struggles with Public Speaking and Performance Anxiety in Litigation and Transactional Work
II. The Quiet Lawyer
• Differences Among Introversion, Shyness, and Social Anxiety
• Challenges Quiet Lawyers Can Face in Lawyering
• Assets Quiet Lawyers Bring to the Profession
III. Impact of the “Pressure to Extrovert”
• Inauthenticity
• National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being Report
• Role of Fear in Mistake-Making
IV. Well-Being Support and Guidance
V. Seven-Step Process for Amplifying Our Authentic Voices
VI. Q&A
Program Takeaways:
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 1 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 1 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 1 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1.2 | 1.2 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
General Credits | Ethics Credits |
1 | 0 |
Introverted Lawyer Handout (1.5 MB) | 32 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Heidi K. Brown is a graduate of The University of Virginia School of Law, a law professor at Brooklyn Law School, and a former litigator in the construction industry. Having struggled with extreme public speaking anxiety and the perceived pressure to force an extroverted persona throughout law school and nearly two decades of law practice, she finally embraced her introversion and quiet nature as a powerful asset in teaching and practicing law. She is the author of a two-volume legal writing book series entitled The Mindful Legal Writer, won a Global Legal Skills award for her work in helping law students overcome public speaking anxiety in the context of the Socratic Method and oral arguments, and was appointed to the Fulbright Specialist roster to teach English legal writing in international law schools. As the author of The Introverted Lawyer, Heidi champions the power of quiet law students and lawyers to be profoundly impactful advocates, in their authentic voices.
5 |
|
4 |
|
3 |
|
2 |
|
1 |
|