Survey: Lawyer traits show practice leaning

LAWYERS COULD be more likely to excel in some practice groups than others depending on their psychological make-up, according to a new survey.

Business coaching consultancy OvationXL polled a sample of partners and learning heads in 50 per cent of top-100 UK law firms, and found almost three-quarters (74 per cent) believed psychological characteristics could indicate an inherent suitability for specialising in various branches of the law.

However, a similar 76 per cent of respondents felt such ‘signature behaviours’ should not be identified at law school, where breadth of experience was more valuable.

Just over half (53 per cent) of those surveyed considered corporate and commercial lawyers most likely to be “natural leaders”, and 59 per cent saw them as “analytical”. Intellectual property (IP) lawyers were thought of as the most analytical – with a notably high 95 per cent.

Just under half (47 per cent) attributed this quality to commercial property lawyers, although 71 per cent said those suited to this practice were likely to be “well organised” and “good time managers”. However, some 83 per cent thought residential property lawyers were likely to manage their time even more effectively.

Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) said employment lawyers were most likely to make the best “communicators”, compared to a 59 per cent score for criminal lawyers and 48 per cent for private client lawyers. Criminal lawyers, however, were the considered “the most optimistic” (25 per cent).

Around two-thirds (65 per cent) of lawyers said litigators were naturally “analytical”, with 29 per cent also describing this breed as “courageous”.

Robin Johnson, business performance coach at OvationXL estimates that almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of successful job applications have a ‘gut feel aspect’, based on candidates’ personal qualities.

“This means that graduates would be well advised to research which psychological traits count for each branch of law and then work out how to bolster and prove these strengths at interview,” he explained.

The law firms taking part in the survey varied in size from 20 to 550 staff per office, with the average being 307.