6 lessons for lawyers from the gym

My return to fitness, following the age of coronavirus, has taught me certain principles that can be applied to legal practice, writes Liz Chase.

Liz Chase • 14 June 2022 • Big Law

Having survived one of the world’s most intense lockdowns and lost all my fitness, I am now a grateful member of a boutique training studio where I sweat it out in close confines with 12 or so strangers who are now my morning besties.

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During this time, try as I might to empty my mind and focus on the burn, old habits die hard and my penchant for analogies just won’t quit. So, from this perspective, I present you with six lessons for lawyers from the gym:

Your client is the hero

What sold me on this overpriced experience I refer to as my place of morning worship was the feeling of personalised attention and welcome. Imagine my shock when one day, I attended a make-up session in the afternoon, and the vibe was totally off. It was the “muscle man” show, and even now, despite having trained with this guy at least eight times, he refers to me as “legend”, whilst all the other trainers know me by name.

There is a bit of a misconception by the other trainers that Mr Muscles, by virtue of his impressive physique, is the best trainer at the gym. I know Mr Muscles thinks he is. The thing is, I could care less about his muscles. I much prefer the softly spoken, attentive trainer who is watching me like a hawk to monitor and improve my form. That guy gets it – he is interested in what I am interested in – my muscles.

The lesson for lawyers is clear: be client, not self, -centred. Expertise does not exist in a vacuum; it is applied in a context. Be curious about your client and do not presume to know what is important to them.

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The last reps are the most important

Have you noticed that it is the last few reps that hurt the most? Apparently, that is where the gains are made.

Starting projects and winning business is exciting. And whilst nothing happens unless you start, finishing strong is where the magic happens. That means thank-you cards and follow-up emails to your referrers, diarising post-completion tasks and checking in with your clients. Don’t trail off – execute with intention all the way through.

Discomfort promotes growth

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.

Be gutsy and take on projects and engage with perspectives just outside your comfort zone to challenge and grow. Ask for and reflect on feedback. Not just from seniors, but consider having a process for eliciting feedback from your clients and colleagues (at every level) as well. Lean in.

P.A.C.E. (positive action changes everything)

Take small incremental steps on a consistent basis and one day, what was difficult becomes easy.

I remember when I started at the gym, and I looked at the box jump with dismay. No way, I thought. And then, before I knew it, I was completing sets of box jumps when previously I couldn’t do one.

We have all experienced this growing our legal skill set – our first appearance, significant negotiation, letter of advice. I remember my first email to a client had me staring at the blank screen like a deer in headlights for a seeming eternity. The type of email that I was later punching out effortlessly. What gets us over the line is showing up – consistently – and having the confidence to keep going.

Supervising lawyers, be aware that supportive, not fear-based, cultures create the optimal conditions for lawyers to thrive. Targeted feedback and gentle encouragement will go a long way.

Sixty seconds is a long time

Anyone who has done a plank knows that 60 seconds can feel like an eternity. A lot can happen in a short time when you put in sustained and focused effort.

The lesson here is to carve out time without distractions to get that high-level, high-impact work done.

Outcomes over outputs – every day of the week

After working out for a while, as I was starting to feel good about myself, I noticed my friends complimenting me. Apparently, I was looking everything from “well” in the case of my reserved colleagues right through to “fabulous”. Interestingly though, not one single person complimented me on the number of burpees or box jumps I had completed, for that was merely my output. They were complimenting me instead on the spring in my step, the extra bounce and confidence I was exuding. They were complimenting me on the outcome of my output.

The takeaway here is that it is results, not effort, that matter. Invest time and energy into outcomes-based pricing models rather than time-based billing. Not only will you reduce a whole lot of unnecessary stress on your team, but you will also be more in step with your client and increase certainty for both of you – win/win. You can also build in efficiencies and work smarter instead of harder and increase profitability and productivity.

To wrap up, there are two things that I absolutely know to be true:

My best ideas come to me when I step away from the problem I am solving; and
My most innovative ideas are not new. They are simply a transfer from something that works in one context, to another.

Liz Chase is the co-founder and legal designer at Law Designed, and also a mentor and lawyer at Leo Cussen Centre for Law.

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