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Scott Benton: Hey everyone, Scott Benton here. How are you? I am the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast where we help you easily transition from a law school student into your professional career as an attorney and where we like to make the practice of law fun.
And today we’re gonna look at part two of the power of diplomacy in practicing law.
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Scott Benton: Today, in order to help assist your overall use in the success cycle, we’re going to look at Part 2 of the Power of Diplomacy in Practicing Law.
In the previous episode, we talked about the differences between attorneys who behave in an aggressive, combative manner and attorneys who use more of a diplomatic approach, which is the opposite of the combative manner.
We talked about how effective diplomacy can be simply by using a calm demeanor where Active listening is a key to allowing others to take really all the time that they need to say whatever it is that they want to say. With active listening, you often walk away with twice as much good and useful information than attorneys who use more of an aggressive [00:02:00] style.
As diplomacy uses more of a calm, cooperative, and reasonable tone, while still holding firm to the core demands that you have, oftentimes this can lead to faster resolutions because an agreeable manner can put witnesses and opposing counsel at ease, which makes them more comfortable in talking to you.
The space that you’ve created using a diplomatic approach is much more relaxed and accommodating in nature. And I think everybody feels that way when they’re around somebody who is using diplomacy. This type of approach, of course, it’s likely going to have similar favorable results while taking depositions and while in courtroom settings with judges, witnesses, and opposing counsel.
Just about anyone will respond to someone using diplomacy over someone who’s aggressive or tense or creates a hostile environment. I’m sure you’ve probably had plenty of experiences with those two behavior styles yourself.
In fact, one interesting dynamic when it comes [00:03:00] to the use of diplomacy in a legal setting is that it creates an unsettling calm. When you’re able to stay calm under pressure, it can actually unnerve the more aggressive or adversarial attorneys who typically are expecting to find conflict. However, If you’re using a diplomatic approach, then a more aggressive opposition attorney is going to either get frustrated with your unsettling calm, or they’re going to try and get you to react by raising their voice or maybe becoming emotional.
While it’s not always easy to do, your ability to not react at all while under pressure will tend to make a more adversarial attorney like In this one example, it’ll make them appear unreasonable. Now this builds trust and credibility for you in the eyes of everyone else in the room, and that’s to your advantage.
Diplomacy can also create a sense of fairness and professionalism, which makes you appear more credible and likable. And that’s a [00:04:00] vital quality when it comes to persuading judges and juries. It helps you gain the upper hand in settlement talks, and it pushes negotiations in your favor because the opposing counsel likely will feel that you’re being reasonable.
And therefore, assuming they themselves are not being perceived as being reasonable, you’re more likely to succeed in court. In terms of learning diplomatic strategies so they’re usable to you, it probably means taking classes or watching videos and reading books to really get this kind of diplomatic behavior down. One off the more popular books on negotiation that tends to come up time and time again is by a former FBI hostage negotiator named Chris Voss called Never Split the Difference Negotiating as if your life depended on it.
Now if ever there was a time and a place to practice an extreme level of diplomacy it would have to be during hostage negotiations. So the Chris Voss book may be a valuable [00:05:00] resource for you. You might want to pick up that book and give it a read. As for a few practical tips on using diplomacy, which likely is going to be perceived as an intimidation tactic on the opposing side, which gives the use of diplomacy and law practice an extra edge, here are some ideas for you to consider.
When the opposing side reveals their hand, you don’t want to react. Instead, you want to remember to practice patience. Remain unreadable. Something that you can do simply by pausing after the opponent makes a statement or a demand. This pause, for them, it creates a psychological pressure to fill up the silence gap.
Which sometimes leads to the opposing party to concede valuable points. In other words, they’ll keep talking, you’ll keep gathering more and more information. In diplomacy, you also want to maintain control through language, which means using professional and respectful words to project authority [00:06:00] without using aggression.
As in one example, you want to refer to the opposing counsel by their formal title and avoid personal jabs or any sarcasm. You demonstrate self assurance through your composure and your calmness conveys confidence. So even when you’re facing setbacks, remain composed. That’s going to cause the opposing party to question their own position as they desperately try to read your body language.
But you’re never going to react in the face of a setback or get emotional, so your non verbal feedback will be useless to the opposing party, which gives the entire room the impression that you’re still in control.
So as you can see, the use of diplomacy is a communication style that, when used in a legal practice, can have a counterintuitive ability to make an attorney who uses it more intimidating. Even more intimidating than aggressive and combative attorneys. So become more diplomatic in your approach to interactions in the [00:07:00] legal arena.
It might be worth considering this style of communication, and if it’s used, it may give you an important edge that can work to your advantage. I’m Scott Benton. I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast. Thank you so much for hanging out with us on this episode. If you like this podcast and you’d like to get more information about us, you can always go to our website at classroom2courtroom. com. That’s classroom, the number two courtroom. com, or you can send us a message to keep in touch with us. You can also inquire about our seasonal associate programs that we have available for law school students.
You can apply and come work for us.
And as always, don’t forget to share, like, and subscribe to stay on top of all of our latest episodes. And until next time, we hope you’ll join us in making the world a better place. One client at a time.
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