Chapter 1 Methods and Background

• Library: Accelerating Lawyer Success: How to Make Partner, Stay Healthy, and Flourish in a Law Firm (ABA) (2015 Ed.)

Success, however you might define it—promotion, flourishing, and/or being physically healthy—is something that everyone pursues. It was certainly on the minds of all the lawyers we talked with while conducting the research we present in this book. The goal of this book is to provide empirical evidence on how lawyers have found success and advice for those striving for it. To learn about success—and how to attain it—in a law-firm environment, we conducted a large multipart, mixed-methods study on lawyers in large law-firms, including archival and survey research followed by a number of one-on-one interviews. Detailed information about our research approach is provided in the Appendix. For now, we'll just give you an overview of how we conducted our research and how we drew conclusions about law-firm lawyer success.

How

This book was written by three social scientists who also work in the legal arena. We were frustrated by the lack of empirical data among the plethora of anecdotal books and articles telling associates how to be successful. So we set out on a mission to empirically answer the question, "Who excels as an associate in a large law-firm?"

We conducted the first part of our mixed-method study within a single AmLaw 100 law-firm. We collected survey data on the personality and mind-set of associates in this firm, as well as archival data on their behavioral competency ratings and how well they were performing relative to their peers. Additionally, we conducted...