Prominent L.A. Attorney Says Future Lawyers Should Be Screened and Trained for Empathy

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Baer, an award-winning attorney and mediator in practice since 1991, notes, "Those who tend to be attracted to law school in the first place tend to be logical thinkers (rule oriented) and have low EQ levels. Moreover, the research indicates that the training students receive in law school also causes an 'erosion of empathy.' Furthermore, the more empathic students tend to drop out of law school at a much higher rate. Moreover, lawyers with 'higher level of resilience, empathy, initiative and sociability' are more likely to leave law practice than those with lower levels of those traits."

Baer claims this root problem is causing significant problems for society.

"Law schools must begin recognizing the damage that is being caused to interpersonal relationships and our overall society, due to the low EQ levels of those involved in the field of law and make a concerted effort to address this extremely serious problem. Law schools might learn a thing or two from the changes taking place in the education of future physicians," said Baer. 

He then showed how a quote written about changes under consideration with regard to the medical field could apply equally well to the legal field with a few minor changes.  The quote with his changes in brackets is as follows:  It would benefit everyone if "leaders [in the legal field began] exploring ways to infuse more empathy into the [legal] field. That includes re-evaluating the criteria for who should get admitted to [law] school in the first place, and what they should learn while they're there. Their reforms [should] raise questions about what constitutes quality [legal] care, how (and whether) it can be trained, and how much change is even possible in the American [legal] system today."

To speak with Mark Baer,
Please contact: Aurora DeRose (310) 396-6090 – [email protected].

SOURCE Mark Baer

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