How happiness can save the practice of law

A law firm can gain by learning more about associates' strengths and employing that knowledge to help shape the work environment. When a young lawyer enters a firm, he or she comes equipped not only with prudence and other lawyerly talents like high verbal intelligence, but with an additional set of unused signature strengths, such as leadership, originality, fairness, enthusiasm, perseverance, and social intelligence. As lawyers' jobs are crafted now, these strengths do not get much play, and when situations call for them, they do not necessarily fall to those who have the relevant strengths.

Law firms should discover the particular signature strengths of their associates. Exploiting them could make the difference between a demoralized associate and an energized, productive colleague. A firm can produce higher morale by setting aside five to ten hours of the work week for “signature strength time”, (i.e. a non-routine assignment that uses the signature strengths). Over time, higher morale will translate into higher billing hours.

Some examples may serve to make the point. If an associate's strengths include leadership he or she could be assigned to associate committee work; or if it is social intelligence, he or she could be exposed to clients at an earlier stage. Originality might send an associate to the library to search out a non-obvious theory to an intractable legal problem.

The growing unhappiness of lawyers, and especially young lawyers, is a serious problem which confronts our profession. Thankfully, however, there is a potential remedy: not bigger salaries, or plusher offices, but rather a return to grass roots. Happiness must be accepted as the ultimate starting point.