How Lawyers Can Turn Fear Into An Ally
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Experiencing anxiety before going to trial is not uncommon. The challenge for many lawyers is taking that nervous energy and using it to their advantage.
Yet lawyers often are imprisoned by fear. They’re fearful that their cases are out of control. They’re fearful of looking foolish. They’re fearful of negotiating. They’re fearful of appearing weak. Even continuing legal education courses can contribute by making lawyers fear that they are not up to date on current practices or wary of the myriad number of things that can go wrong.
Being fearful is not always bad, as Yoder found out. Lawyers need to manage and embrace their fears rather than succumb to their de-structive powers, says John Lande, a professor emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law. Lawyers’ fears, he says, can lead them to enhance their performance with increased preparation and skills for thinking effectively on their feet.
Lande examined fears endemic to the legal profession in a 2014 article, “Escaping from Lawyers’ Prison of Fear,” published in the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review.
Fear has become part of the legal culture because lawyers, like soldiers, often feel engaged in battle. “There is a sense of being in adversarial combat,” Lande says. “You’re dealing with an enemy that’s shooting back and you have to anticipate their moves and strategies.”
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