Creativity within the Legal Profession:
A seasoned attorney once told me that there is no place for creativity within the legal profession. This view may explain why many attorneys, even younger ones, embrace the traditional approach to the profession. You can see traces of the traditional mindset in the attorney’s office furniture, marketing, and the way they approach legal representation of their clients. Their office furniture looks like it is from the 19th century, they are still advertising in the yellow pages, and they talk to their clients in such legal-ease that their clients cannot possibly understand what the attorney is saying.
On the one hand, it is easy to understand the importance of tradition within the profession; our entire legal system is based on tradition and precedence. On the other hand, attorneys are so concerned about preserving tradition that attorneys now believe that creativity has no place within the profession. This is a scary thought, especially considering that some of the best representation starts with the most creative ideas.
I for one, do not believe creativity is dead in the legal profession. There is room for both tradition and creativity in the court room, in fact, this is how the legal profession has evolved with our changing attitude about morality and justice. Creativity is why our clients hire us. It is our job to come up with creative solutions to legal problems. Sometimes these ideas are “rule-bending” and sometimes these solutions are complicated triangle deals that will solve our client’s business and personal problems.
I consider myself a progressive attorney. I maintain a balance of tradition and modern that I consider to be ideal. Although it is has become acceptable for female attorneys to wear non-traditional clothing to court, I tend to wear a traditional suit to court; however, my office furniture is minimal and modern (we have standing desks!), I do not advertise in the yellow pages, and I try to explain legal concepts in everyday English. Our firm has integrated videos into our marketing plan and will continue to work with new media platforms that our clients also use in their business and personal lives. I am also not willing to give up my creativity in my personal life. If you find us on Facebook or Instagram (@ladiesoflaw), you learn something about our personal lives. This may be off-putting to some, but I urge clients to accept and expect creativity in the legal profession. Attorneys can only be as creative as our clients allow us to be.
