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The Introverted Lawyer: Authentically Empowered Advocacy


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Average Rating:
   1
Categories:
Law Practice Management
Faculty:
Heidi Brown
Duration:
1 Hour
Format:
Audio and Video
License:
Access for 3 month(s) after purchase.


Description

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:

  • Introverted, shy, and socially anxious individuals bring important assets to the legal profession—including active listening, deep thinking, empathy, impactful legal writing, creative problem-solving, and thoughtful communication.
  • The “pressure to extrovert” can have a negative impact on the wellbeing of naturally quiet lawyers; instead, we should embrace authenticity and enhance self-awareness of our valuable strengths.
  • By adopting mental and physical strategies, quiet lawyers can step into performance-oriented lawyering scenarios with authentic empowerment, enhancing well-being in the practice of law.

Credits


Alaska
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 1

 


Colorado
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Delaware
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1 0

 


Indiana
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1 0

 


Maine
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


Michigan
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 1

 


Montana
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


Nebraska
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


Nevada
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


New Mexico
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


North Dakota
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


South Carolina
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


South Dakota
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


Texas
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


Vermont
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


Virginia
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 1

 


Washington
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


West Virginia
General Credits Ethics Credits
1.2 1.2

 


Wisconsin
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 


Wyoming
General Credits Ethics Credits
1 0

 



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Faculty

Heidi Brown's Profile

Heidi Brown Related Seminars and Products


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 schoolsAs 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.


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