Module 1
What leadership is in a legal setting: management, models and the lawyer as leader
Lawyers are promoted for being good lawyers, and are then expected to lead, usually without anyone having taught them how. The skills that make a fine advocate or a careful draftsman (independence, scepticism, attention to detail, a habit of finding what could go wrong) are not the skills of leading a team, and sometimes work against them. Yet the quality of leadership decides the culture of a firm, whether good people stay, whether decisions are made and whether clients are served well. This first module asks what leadership is and is not, how it differs from management and from legal skill, what the main models of leadership offer and where they fall short, and what is particular about leading lawyers. It ends with a self-check to find where you stand. The rest of the course builds the practical skills: direction, decisions, teams, change, culture and growth.
Hover over an idea to light up what it connects to, click it for its definition, minimum requirements, an example and the usual trap, press Play to watch the map build step by step, or trace a short case through it.
Simplified teaching map, in general terms. Check the law where you work. On a small screen, scroll the map sideways.
By the end of this module you can
- Tell leadership from management and from legal skill.
- Explain why lawyers are often unprepared to lead.
- Describe five leadership models and their uses.
- Name the challenges of leading lawyers.
- Make an honest self-check.
Part 1. The lecture
Leadership, management and expertise
The words are often used loosely. A useful distinction is between three different jobs.
| Job | Focus | Questions it asks |
|---|---|---|
| Practising | The legal work itself. | What is the right answer for this client? Is the document correct? |
| Managing | Getting the work done through others, reliably and efficiently. | Who does what, by when? Are we on budget and on standard? What is blocking us? |
| Leading | Setting direction and helping people to go there. | Where are we going and why? What kind of team and culture do we need? What must change? |
Management is about systems and results; leadership is about direction, people and change. A team needs both, and most leaders in practice do some of each. A manager without leadership keeps the machine running and never improves it. A leader without management has inspiring ideas that no one carries out.
- Leading is not a title. A senior associate who sets the standard for a project and helps colleagues is leading; a managing partner who only chairs meetings may not be.
- Leading is not being the best lawyer in the room. Your expertise earns respect, but a leader’s results come through others.
- Leading is a set of habits, which can be learnt, practised and improved.
Why lawyers are often unprepared
Several features of legal training and practice make leadership harder.
- Promotion for technical skill. The best lawyer becomes the head of team without any training in leading.
- Individual work. Much legal work is done alone, and success is measured by personal output and billable hours, not by how others do.
- The habit of finding the flaw. It is the lawyer’s gift in analysis, and in leading it can turn into criticism, caution and a failure to say what is going well.
- Preference for autonomy. Lawyers often resist being led, and may resist leading in turn, preferring to let people alone.
- Risk aversion. A profession whose job is to avoid error tends to dislike change, uncertainty and experiment.
- Hierarchy and status. Titles and seniority matter, and challenging a senior person may feel unsafe.
- Little feedback. Lawyers rarely get honest, regular feedback on how they lead.
None of this is a defect of character. It is the result of how people are selected and trained. The remedy is deliberate learning.
Five models of leadership
Many models exist. They are not laws; each highlights something. Treat them as lenses.
| Model | Central idea | Good for | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Situational | Adjust your style to the person and the task: directing a novice, coaching a developing person, supporting a capable one, delegating to an expert. | Everyday leading of different people. | Needs good judgement of the person’s readiness; easy to misjudge. |
| Transformational | Inspire people with a vision, challenge them and develop them, so that they go beyond what they thought possible. | Change, a new firm, building a culture. | Can rely on a charismatic leader and neglect routine. |
| Servant | The leader’s task is to serve the team: remove obstacles, develop people and put their needs first. | Retention, trust, professional teams. | Can be slow, and may avoid hard decisions. |
| Authentic | Lead from your own values and be honest about yourself. | Trust and credibility. | ‘Being yourself’ can excuse poor behaviour; it must be disciplined by learning. |
| Adaptive | Distinguish technical problems (known solutions) from adaptive ones (needing new learning and shifts of values), and lead people through the latter. | Disruption: technology, market shocks, changes in client expectations. | Demanding and uncomfortable; takes time. |
A mature leader draws on several. A simple practice is to ask, in each situation: What does this person or this team need from me now: direction, challenge, support, space or protection?
Style and the situation
A trainee in her first week needs clear instructions and close review. The same trainee a year later needs coaching and increasing independence. A senior partner with a specialist practice needs support and delegation, not supervision. The same leader may need to be directive in a crisis and consultative on strategy.
The challenge of leading lawyers
| Feature of lawyers | What it means for the leader |
|---|---|
| Independent and sceptical | Command and control rarely work. Explain reasons, listen to objections and persuade. |
| Highly trained and expert | They know their field better than you do. Respect it, and lead on direction and conditions, not on legal content. |
| Averse to risk and error | Make it safe to admit mistakes and to try new things, within sensible limits. Fear of error can paralyse a team. |
| Status-conscious | Be careful about titles, credit and fairness. Recognition matters a great deal. |
| Time-pressured, with billable targets | Time spent on leading or on the team competes with billing. Make the time visible and valued. |
| Self-employed in spirit, even when employed | Autonomy is prized. Give it where you can, and be clear about the limits. |
| Adversarial by training | Debate is a strength. Watch that it does not become conflict among colleagues. |
Leading lawyers is often compared to herding cats. The better image is a gathering of experts who will follow a leader who is competent, fair, honest and clear, and who is useful to them.
A self-check
Before reading on, take an honest look at where you are. For each statement, ask yourself how true it is of you, from 1 (rarely) to 5 (usually), and, better still, ask two colleagues.
- I tell my team where we are going and why, not only what to do next.
- I make decisions when they are needed, and explain them.
- I give specific feedback, including praise, regularly.
- People tell me bad news early.
- I delegate real responsibility and let people do things in their own way.
- I notice how people are, not only what they produce.
- I admit my own mistakes and what I do not know.
- I treat people fairly, and they would say so.
- I make time for the team, even when I am busy.
- I keep learning how to lead.
Look at the lowest scores. They are where to concentrate. The following modules offer tools for each, and the Decision Rights Builder in Module 3 helps with one of the most practical: making clear who decides what.
A principle that runs through this course
Leading is mostly what you do repeatedly in small things: how you open a meeting, what you notice, how you respond to bad news, whom you thank. Big speeches matter far less than steady habits.
Part 2. Lab: Leader or Manager?
Sort each action by whether it is mainly leading or mainly managing.
Situation 1 of 6
Explaining to the team why the department is moving towards fixed-fee work and what it will mean for them.
Where does this belong?
Part 3. Lab: Choose the Style
Choose the best leadership response in each situation, using situational thinking.
Situation 1 of 3
A trainee joins your team this week. She is bright but has never handled a file.
What does she most need from you now?
Part 4. Lab: Spot the Leadership Slip
Click the behaviours that show the common traps of lawyers who lead.
A head of team’s habits
Click every sentence that causes a problem, then press Check. There may be 3 problems, and some sentences are fine.
Part 5. Check your understanding
Ten questions drawn from a larger pool. Sign in to have your score saved towards your certificate.
You have finished the free module
Here is what you can do now, and where the course goes next
Module 1 gave you
- Tell leadership from management and from legal skill.
- Explain why lawyers are often unprepared to lead.
- Describe five leadership models and their uses.
- Name the challenges of leading lawyers.
- Make an honest self-check.
Next, 6 more modules and a capstone
- Module 2: Setting direction: purpose, strategy, objectives and saying noYou will learn to state a purpose that people recognise.
- Module 3: Decisions and decision rights: who decides what, and how wellYou will learn to sort decisions by reversibility and importance.
- Module 4: Building a team that works: safety, roles, meetings, conflict and inclusionYou will learn to name what high-performing teams share.
- Module 5: Leading change: why it fails, how to make it stick and how to bring lawyers with youYou will learn to explain why change fails.
- Module 6: Culture, ethics and standards: what the leader makes normal
- Module 7: Leading yourself and growing as a leader: awareness, feedback, time, influence and succession
- Capstone: Capstone: your first hundred days as head of an inherited team
Each module has its own practice labs and a graded quiz, and a Certificate of Completion follows when you pass them all. The whole course is $15 once, or included in an All-Access Membership.
Two Ways In
Introductory PriceLeading a Legal Team: buy it on its own, or get it with All-Access
Unlock all of Leading a Legal Team on its own with a one-time purchase, or get it as part of an All-Access Membership, which also covers every course and the other paid tools. A member never needs to buy it separately.
This is an early, introductory price for a brand-new product — it’s expected to rise as we add more content. Buy now and it’s yours at today’s rate, forever.
No account needed: you pay, and we email you a one-click sign-in.
All-Access is $19.99 a month or $149 a year, and covers every course and most tools, this one included. Create a free account to subscribe.
Look first, then buy. Free previews on every product page. Secure payment by Stripe. Pay once, keep it forever. Details
See what is included in All-Access →Not ready to buy? Create a free account to save your quiz scores and your place in this course, and to get the printable reports from the practice rooms.
General education on leadership in legal practice, using invented people and organisations. It is not legal, HR or professional-conduct advice. Professional rules and employment law differ between countries and change: check the rules that apply to you and take advice on real cases.
Teaching? Share this with your class
Free to use in class. The free parts open for everyone, no account needed.