Research confirms that not only are lawyers highly autonomous, but they share quite a number of personality traits that distinguish them from other corporate professionals in commerce.   These 'lawyer personality traits' have broad implications for the management of lawyers, the cultivation of rainmakers, the retention of associates and a range of other critical issues in the day-to-day practice of law.

Personality exerts a potent influence on virtually all aspects of law firm life.  In recent years, managing partners, especially in larger firms, have come to appreciate the importance of understanding these factors.

Law firms invest millions of pounds each year on recruiting, hiring and rewarding bright new associates based largely on academic achievement, not a full assessment of individual personality strengths or weaknesses which might affect their compatibility with the firm.

For more than 20 years, the Personal Profile System DiSC ® instrument has helped nearly 40 million people worldwide unlock the door to productive communications, positive relationships and increased performance.  It is also strategic to profile all lawyers within the various practice areas to provide everyone with aggregate data about the personality contours of the firm:

• Are there blind spots?

• Are there large clusters of individuals with extreme scores on a particular trait?

The aggregate distribution of certain personality traits in a firm helps to shape the culture of the firm.  Armed with this information, the management team in a firm can:

• develop a greater sense of their strengths

• more consciously build a firm's culture

• evolve a clearer marketing strategy

• hire more intelligently

• cultivate business development by understanding what makes a successful 'rainmaker'