EQ + LAW

WHY SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR EQ?

"The value of emotional intelligence is already obvious in jobs like nursing, ministry, and teaching.... Good lawyers will become like legal therapists – creating trust with clients and helping solve their problems, rather than simply writing briefs and doing research.... People who are skilled at creating social and emotional experiences will be better positioned for the future than people whose primary skill is making or doing things."

- Kevin Roose in "Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation"

Improving one's emotional intelligence can have a host of benefits, both in academic achievement as well as in the legal profession.

There are three core areas of emotional intelligence.

Appraisal and Expression of Emotions
Regulation of Emotions
Utilization of Emotions

After reading the below explanation and examples, we invite you to take the EQ TEST, in order to determine how your EQ measures up in each of these categories.

1. Appraisal and Expression of Emotion

The ability to appraise and express ones emotions will allow a student to better communicate with their peers and colleagues, and build better relationships with them.
The ability to appraise and express ones emotions allows lawyers and legal professionals to tell compelling stories in advocacy roles.

"Using emotional intelligence can give a negotiator an edge in navigating the half of negotiation challenges that are emotional”
- Ronda Muir - Beyond Smart: Lawyering with Emotional Intelligence

SELF

Description:

Appraising ones own emotions can allow for better responses, as well as the ability to process and further understand ones emotional wellbeing.

Verbal: Learning about ones emotions depends in part by being able to speak clearly of them.

Ask yourself: Do you like to share your emotions with others?

Non-Verbal: The ability to appraise emotions which are not verbally communicated, such as through body language has been shown to increase ones ability to communicate about emotions and improve ones empathy

Ask yourself: Am I aware of my emotions as I experience them?

Practical Outcome

Effective communication to form stronger relationships with classmates, colleagues and clients.

OTHERS

Description:

Skillful recognizance of others' emotional reactions and empathic responses allow individuals to gauge accurately the responses in others and choose socially adaptive behaviours in response.

Non-Verbal Perception: Interpreting others non-verbal communications regarding emotions allows better interpersonal communication.

Ask yourself: Am I aware of my emotions as I experience them?

Empathy: The ability to understand other feelings, their point of view, and experience a similar emotional response tot them and communicate this internal experience.

Ask yourself: When someone tells you about an event where the experienced powerful emotions, do you almost feel as if you have experienced this event yourself?

Practical Outcome

A better understanding of clients and adversaries positions can lead to more efficient dispute resolution.

2. Regulation of emotions

3. Utilization of emotions

Harnessing one's own emotions to solve problems.

The ability to utilize ones emotions allows students to adapt and be flexible to respond to sudden assignments, additional readings, and other responsibilities which arise in law school and as a legal professional. This also promotes creative thinking, which is useful in coming up with novel legal arguments on exams, papers, and in moot court.
The ability to utilize ones emotions helps a legal professional handle disappointment that comes from losing a case, and can assist in problem solving by allowing one to think creatively.

Flexible Planning

Description

Changes in moods have an impact on how we perceive things. A change in mood can help break ones set idea of how to go about certain situations and helps one consider a variety of possibilities.

Ask Yourself: When your mood changes, do you see new possibilities?

Practical Outcome:

Allows an individual to be adaptable as new challenges arise in school or work.

Creative Thinking

Description:

A good mood allows individuals to think more creatively or come up with unusual answers.

Ask yourself: When you feel a change in emotions, do you come up with new ideas?

Practical Outcome:

Creative thinking initiated by utilization of ones emotions can lead to better problem solving, especially when faced with a unique or novel situation on an exam or in a case.

Redirected Attention

Description:

When powerful emotions occur, attention is directed to new problems. Learning to capitalize on the capacity of emotional process to refocus attention on what is important is crucial.

Ask yourself: Have major life events led you to re-evaluate what is important and not important?

Practical Outcomes

This allows a person to use setbacks in the workplace as learning opportunities.

Motivation

Description:

The ability to use ones positive mood can help a person maintain motivation.

Ask yourself: when faced with a challenge, I give up because I believe I will fail.

Practical Outcomes

Using emotions to stay motivated can allow someone to be intrinsically motivated to work hard and persevere.

EQ + LAW

WHY SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR EQ?

1. Appraisal and Expression of Emotion

2. Regulation of emotions

3. Utilization of emotions

Overall Wellbeing

Navigation

EQ + LAW

WHY SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR EQ?

1. Appraisal and Expression of Emotion

2. Regulation of emotions

3. Utilization of emotions

Overall Wellbeing

Navigation

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