Close your eyes. Picture a lawyer. What do you see?
Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee’s pithy one-liners in ‘A Few Good Men.’ Billy Flynn razzle-dazzling in ‘Chicago.’ Elle Woods bending and snapping in ‘Legally Blonde.’ …Maybe that one’s just me.
These are exaggerated caricatures of lawyers, but they reveal something about society’s impression of what a typical lawyer is like: spirited, risk-taking, and extroverted.
My Favorite 4-Letter Word Acronym
Whenever I try to get to know someone on a deeper level, chances are I’ll ask them to take the king of all personality tests: the Myers-Briggs test. The test distinguishes personality types based on four categories of preferences:
- World: whether you prefer the outside world (extroverted) or your own inner thoughts (introverted);
- Information: whether you prefer actual facts (sensing) or big-picture meanings (intuition);
- Decisions: whether you’re guided by logic and objectivity (thinking) or relationships and harmony (feeling); and
- Structure: whether you prefer structured plans (judging) or flexibility (perceiving).
The test identifies which preferences you gravitate toward and assigns a letter to each category—”E” or “I” for extroverted or introverted, “S” or “N” for sensing or intuition, “T” or “F” for thinking or feeling, and “J” or “P” for judging or perceiving—creating a 4-letter acronym representing one of the sixteen possible personality types.
Outgoing Introverts
While some argue that personality tests are ineffective (particularly 
for those who know how to manipulate the results), almost everyone I’ve asked to take the Myers-Briggs test is impressed by its accuracy. When I took it, I wasn’t just impressed—I was astounded. And it’s all because of one sentence in my result—INFJ—that taught me something I never knew about myself:
It makes sense that their friends and colleagues will come to think of them as quiet extroverted types, but they would all do well to remember that INFJs need time alone to decompress and recharge, and to not become too alarmed when they suddenly withdraw.
Epiphany. I’m not a quiet extrovert, I’m an outgoing introvert.
If you’re itching to tell me that “outgoing introvert” is an impossible oxymoron, you may need to reconsider your definition of introversion.
According to The Myers & Briggs Foundation, introversion has nothing to do with being shy or reclusive. It’s about being reflective.
Drawing a Different Picture
Introverts live in a world inside our heads. We lose energy among others, and gain energy in solitude. We take time to think things through, but sometimes to a fault—we strive to have a clear idea of what we’re going to say before we say it. Our perceived shyness is often because conversation moves too fast for us to determine how to express ourselves in time. Our minds are always churning.
Doesn’t sound like that typical lawyer you pictured, does it?
It’s been a long, bumpy road to find my place in a profession known for its quick-witted think-on-your-toes personalities. Working on a team exhausts me. Oral arguments scare the shit out of me. My bend-and-snap needs a lot of work.
But, interspersed among my weaknesses, I’ve also discovered a lot of strengths my introversion brings to the table. I love immersing myself in deep thought. Wondering what opposing counsel’s next move will be? I’ve already analyzed it. Hours of research alone in my office? Sign me up. Drafting a document? Even better—no one is more precise with their words than an introvert.
People come to lawyers with their problems. One of the most valuable things our profession does is make people’s voices heard. Introverts listen with undivided attention. We analyze every possible solution before taking action. And, most importantly, we relay people’s stories with carefully chosen words. Isn’t that what being a lawyer is all about?
I’ve come to terms with the fact that, as an introvert, I may not have the razzle-dazzle. But, more importantly, I’ve realized that I don’t need it to be a great lawyer.
Robot Lawyer 