We all know that lawyering is primarily a left-brained exercise- moving through the reams of fact patterns we encounter and leading with logic and analysis to provide service to our clients wouldn’t be possible otherwise. And clearly as time passes and we mature as individuals and practitioners society rewards us handsomely for operating in the world this way. However, I believe this approach only goes so far. Right brain skills such as creativity, imagination and intuition do not necessarily make their way into many law school curriculums, but as new challenges surface in our careers it behooves us to consciously cultivate them- and ultimately become adept at switching back and forth between these spheres of knowledge and insight. For many it is a season where everything that they knew to be true and dependable has been upended. Consciously acquiring new problem-solving tools to secure new insights has been the only way I have been able to determine- even in the absence of scant objective evidence- how best to navigate the earlier years of my legal career and pivot when needed. A legal professional with an agile mind and a receptive spirit paves the way to better lawyering and a more fulfilling life experience. For this reason I feel strongly about interacting with my clients in a space where thinking like a lawyer ends.
