The Lost Art

It seems in our society that we've forgotten how to actually communicate with people. In our computer-driven world, communication is seen as the simple transfer of data, and we all too often preserve this absurd notion when talking to human beings. There are people on this planet (and down the street) who have been married for twenty years and talk to their spouses as if they are robots. As communiction goes, it works, but it ignores the spark which makes us alive.

The great orators of ages hence knew this lesson well. William Jennings Bryan was able to electrify the crowds by letting them feel his passion for the subject. He did not tell them what to think, but instead made it perfectly clear that he thought intensely about what he was thinking. We've lost our intensity. During the last Presidential debates, both men looked as if they could have been ordering a rye sandwich. They're discussing nothing less than the direction of the free world and they both look like they need a good nap.

The greatest trait a lawyer can have is empathy. This one, above all others, will propel him to the greatest heights. The ability to emote effectively is generally lost on the general population, however. This is why teenagers in school lash out and grown adults find it perfectly okay to never talk about their problems. Thus, when our society finds someone who can empathize, we latch on to them with a mixture of adiration and awe. John Edwards, despite all of his successes, would never have been made Kerry's VP pick if he hadn't shown at least a little of this trait. He wasn't perfect at it, but he was light years ahead of Kerry.

It also explains why Edwards was such a great trial lawyer- he could bond with the jury. Trial law is about presenting your argument in such a way that the jury responds- a jury which is usually populated with people the average lawyer would never meet. In a split second, an upper-class lawyer with a suit has to be able to connect with the sharecropper and the mother of three who never has time to paint her fingernails. This is not achieved with rote knowledge of the black letter law. It will be achieved through sincerity, and nothing less. It is hard to fool a jury. The same people who you have the hardest time connecting with are also the most disciplined judges of character- they'll peer into your soul, and if you're found wanting, you've lost half your case before you've even started.

The book I think all law students should read? How to Win Friends and Influence People. That should be at the top of any 1L's reading list- the nutshells and overviews can come later.