Teaching leadership skills to tomorrow's lawyers
"Lawyers require leadership skills no matter where they work, whether it's in a law firm, Corporate America, the public sector, or a charitable organization." - Frank Blake, former chair and CEO of The Home Depot
Sponsored by Emory Law’s Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy, the series featured a panel of distinguished attorneys, including Blake, who offered their take on the key aspects of effective leadership, as well as the need for setting a strategy and vision for decision-making and leading teams. According to Blake, the success of any organization boils down to its people, including its legal team, choosing to lead with “vision, determination, and compassion.” The lecture series focused on applying leadership theories to a wide swath of legal careers.
“Lawyers require leadership skills no matter where they work, whether it’s in a law firm, Corporate America, the public sector, or a charitable organization,” Blake notes. The panelists in the lecture series included lawyers from a variety of career paths: Richard Anderson, CEO of Amtrak; David Dabbiere, chief operating officer of AirWatch; Paul Hudson Jr., founding partner of Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs; David Ratcliffe, former chairman, president, and CEO at Southern Company Energy Solutions; Natosha Reid-Rice, associate general counsel of Habitat for Humanity International and associate pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church; and Teresa Wynn Roseborough, executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at The Home Depot.
According to Robert B. Ahdieh, K.H. Gyr Professor of Private International Law and director of the Center on Federalism and Intersystemic Governance at Emory Law, leadership doesn’t come without its challenges. “We really want our students to be able to supplement the traditional law school curriculum and understand the value of leadership education,” he says. Ahdieh rounded out the panel, reflecting on the nuances of leading accomplished lawyers. “Often, lawyers are in charge of other leaders, and that’s when it’s especially important to establish a common mission and get your people invested in it. They have to feel as if they have a voice in the process.”
Readings and roundtable classroom discussions supplemented the series and gave students the chance to ruminate on the ideas of the panelists and their peers. Kate Freeman 18L, a participant in the series, says she valued the opportunity to reflect on the common misperceptions about lawyers. “I think we always imagine lawyers as ‘know-it-alls’ who are going to argue with you about everything and who always want to be right,” she says. But Freeman notes that the speakers made it clear that good leaders are often humble and willing to ask for help when they need it. After graduation, she plans to do a judicial clerkship on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Mathew Plott 18L also credits the lecture series for helping to expand his notion of what being a lawyer truly means. The panelists reflected on their professional experiences and identified the many roles to play outside of the traditional legal setting. “The lecture series was really about challenging assumptions about leadership,” he says. Plott also notes that the series helped him to better understand how to apply leadership theories to his potential career path, as he weighs the decision to focus on public service or criminal law.
Whether it’s mentoring associates, guiding a team of lawyers on a case, working with clients, or serving on a corporate or nonprofit board, lawyers are constantly applying leadership skills in a variety of ways. And while lawyers might think the bottom line depends on billable hours, it often depends on leading and motivating people more effectively.
According to Reid-Rice, one of the panelists, every lawyer, no matter where they work, needs to practice “moral and courageous leadership.” It could apply to compliance or fostering a more diverse workplace, she says. “Lawyers are trained to be transactional, but many times we need transformational leaders.”
