Empower Your Legal Mind: Traits and Tactics for Lawyers

On the Law Practice Today podcast, host Terrell sits down with psychologists Larry and D'Arcy, authors of Thin Skinned, to discuss research on how lawyers differ from the general public and how those differences affect both practice and personal life. Larry describes decades of data collection—first via a nationwide Myers-Briggs study of 3,000+ lawyers and later through 30 years using the Caliper Profile, now totaling nearly 10,000 lawyer assessments—showing seven atypical trait outliers, including high skepticism and notably low resilience and empathy. They explain that some traits are present before law school, while skepticism, resilience, and empathy are largely learned and can shift with time in law-office environments. The episode highlights practical, research-backed ways to build resilience, including reducing cognitive distortions, increasing positive emotions, and strengthening relationships, plus leadership strategies for creating resilience-friendly firm cultures.00:00 Lawyers Get Thin Skinned00:20 Podcast Intro Disclaimer00:58 Meet the Authors01:44 Larry's Path to Psychology02:28 D'Arcy Joins the Project04:15 30 Years of Lawyer Data06:36 Seven Traits That Stand Out09:29 Why Lawyers Differ10:30 Skepticism Lowers Resilience18:19 Nature, Nurture, and Selection19:56 Four Buckets of Solutions20:47 Bucket One Fix Negative Thinking24:38 Bucket Two Build Positive Emotions30:01 Bucket Three Relationships Matter34:17 Where to Learn More35:05 Final Thanks and Wrap Up