Introverted Lawyers: Agents of Change in the Legal Profession

• Author: Chloe Sovinee-Dyroff
• Position: J.D., University of Colorado Law School (2022); B.A. cum laude, Connecticut College (2014)
• Pages: 111-176

Introverted Lawyers: Agents of Change in the Legal

Profession

CHLOE SOVINEE-DYROFF*

ABSTRACT

From law school admission to legal practice, students and practitioners are

inundated with messages about who is, and who is not, fit to be a lawyer. The

stereotypical lawyer is a fast-talking, podium-pounding extrovert who is

unafraid to take aggressive stances, whether in the courtroom or at the negotia-

tion table. The quiet observers, deep thinkers, and insightful writers, meanwhile,

are pushed to the sidelines. Their authentic voices are stifled, and their natural

skills underutilized. But the legal profession undervalues introverted traits to its

detriment. Introverts—like all those who do not fit within the lawyer typecast—

are compelled to conform to the image of what a lawyer is “supposed” to look

and act like. The resulting homogeneity has engendered a profession-wide crisis

that can no longer be ignored.

This Article examines the intersection between introversion, the structure of

legal education, and the practice of law. Despite the emphasis placed on extro-

verted traits, research reveals that introverts bring powerful qualities and

prized skills to the practice of law, such as empathy, collaborative leadership

and negotiation styles, intrinsic and ethically centered motivation, and complex

problem-solving skills. By recognizing the value of these qualities and embrac-

ing authentic styles of advocacy in general, we can strengthen the profession.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

I. OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

A. THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

B. THE SOLUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

* J.D., University of Colorado Law School (2022); B.A. cum laude, Connecticut College (2014). Thank you

to all the mentors and colleagues who have exemplified the open-mindedness, professionalism, and authenticity

that this paper espouses. A special thanks to Melanie Kay whose teaching methods and instructional style

sparked the idea for this paper and whose supervision was pivotal throughout the drafting process. © 2023,

Chloe Sovinee-Dyroff.

111

1. THE INTROVERT-EXTROVERT CONTINUUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

2. INTROVERSION DEFINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

a. Sensitivity to Stimuli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

b. Slow and Deliberate Work Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

c. Socialization Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

d. Distinction Between Introversion, Shyness, and

Social Anxiety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

3. INTROVERSION AS A COUNTERBALANCE TO THE TRIPARTITE

CRISIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

II. THE SETTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

A. LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

1. THE LSAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

2. IMPACT ON INTROVERTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

B. LEGAL EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

1. THE SOCRATIC METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

2. TIMED EXAMS AND CURVE GRADING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

3. IMPACT ON INTROVERTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

C. LEGAL CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

1. HOMOGENEITY, HYPER-COMPETITIVENESS, AND ABSENCE OF

EMPATHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

2. IMPACT ON INTROVERTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

III. THE SOLUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

A. BENEFITS OF INTROVERTED LAWYERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

1. EMPATHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

2. ETHICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

3. LEADERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

4. COMPLEX PROBLEM SOLVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

5. REWARD SENSITIVITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

6. NEGOTIATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

112 THE GEORGETOWN JOURNAL OF LEGAL ETHICS [Vol. 36:111

B. WHY FORCING INTROVERTS TO ACT MORE

EXTROVERTED WILL NOT WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

1. TEMPERAMENT IS BIOLOGICALLY PREDETERMINED . . . . . . . . 160

2. ADVERSE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

IV. PROPOSED REFORMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

A. LEGAL EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

1. DECREASE RELIANCE ON THE LSAT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

2. INCORPORATE PERSONALITY TESTING INTO LEGAL EDUCATION 166

3. CHANGE THE METHOD OF LAW SCHOOL INSTRUCTION . . . . . . 167

a. Eliminate the Socratic Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

b. Incorporate Soft-Skill Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

c. More Emphasis on Papers and Take-Home Exams . . 170

d. Public Speaking Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

B. LEGAL PRACTICE AND CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

1. ALTER WORKPLACE OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

2. CHANGE HIRING PRACTICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

3. INCREASE AWARENESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

4. FORM AN INTROVERTED LAWYERS BAR ASSOCIATION . . . . . . 175

CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

INTRODUCTION

The legal profession is in crisis. Tens of thousands of complaints are filed

against lawyers for alleged misconduct and unethical behavior every year.

1

AM. BAR ASS’N COMM’N ON EVALUATION OF DISCIPLINARY ENF’T, LAWYER REGULATION FOR A NEW

CENTURY: REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON EVALUATION OF DISCIPLINARY ENFORCEMENT (Sept. 18, 2018),

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/resources/report_archive/mckay_report [https://

perma.cc/KFN9-QZJ4].

Professionalism has declined to the point where “lawyers are frequently likened

to snakes and sharks.”

2

Numerous studies have found that the legal profession is

1.

2. Jeffrey A. Maine, Importance of Ethics and Morality in Today’s Legal World, 29 STETSON L. REV. 1075,

1077–78 (2000); see also Ann Southworth, Our Fragmented Profession, 30 GEO. J. LEGAL ETHICS 431, 435

(2017) (“Concerns about lawyers’ ethical failings . . . continue to this day.”); Eli Wald, Formation without

Identity: Avoiding a Wrong Turn in the Professionalism Movement, 89 U. MO. KAN. CITY L. REV. 685, 686–87

(2021) (“[I]n the face of increasingly competitive practice realities stressing competence, zeal, loyalty to

2023] INTROVERTED LAWYERS 113