You might be dealing with imposter syndrome if you are plagued by self-doubt. Despite holding a position of responsibility in the legal field, do you constantly question your competence or fear being “found out?” This sort of negative self-talk is a classic sign of imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is not a unique feeling, but rather a common one experienced by many high achievers. It is important to recognize that you are not alone in feeling this way. – Sheryl Sandberg
Overcompensation: The Heavyweight of Perfectionism and Workaholism
The beauty of the impostor syndrome is you vacillate between extreme egomania and a complete feeling of: ‘I am a fraud! Oh God, they are on to me! I am a fraud! – Tina Fey
The desire to do everything perfectly can also be a sign of imposter syndrome. Many legal professionals feel the pressure to maintain a faultless facade, which can lead to workaholism and burnout.
If you feel like you are always striving for perfection, pushing beyond reasonable work hours, or obsessing over every detail, it might be time to consider whether imposter syndrome is at play.
Minimizing Success
I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they are going to find out now. I have run a game on everybody, and they are going to find me out. – Maya Angelou
Are you quick to downsize your victories, chalk them up to luck or attribute them to external factors? Those with imposter syndrome often struggle to internalize their success and feel like a fraud, believing that they are not really deserving of the recognition they have received.
The Fear of Failure
Fear of failure often accompanies imposter syndrome. For legal professionals, where every decision carry weight and you are subjected to judicial scrutiny, this fear can be crippling. If you are constantly anxious about making a mistake or encountering a failure, it might be a signal of imposter syndrome.
Legal professionals find themselves constantly subjected to criticism from peers, opponents, and judges – this is an inherent part of the profession. It is a domain where criticism is rampant; even judges critique each other relentlessly. It is completely normal and human to fear criticism and strive to avoid mistakes to evade warranted criticism or judicial disdain. However, the real trouble arises when this fear escalates and becomes irrational. It is essential to recognise this and address it promptly before it morphs into a complex problem like impostor syndrome.
The significant impact of legal professionals’ decisions, which can directly or indirectly alter a person’s life, often further fuels a deep-seated fear of failure.
A lawyer’s misstep could mean loss of freedom or unfair representation for a client. The stakes are high, but unfortunately, legal education rarely includes coping strategies for failure. Compare this to the medical field, where professionals like physicians often undergo training to emotionally detach themselves from distressing outcomes such as patient loss. They are taught to accept that they cannot win every time, and this helps to alleviate their fear of failure.
So, why is this critical aspect of coping left out in the training of legal professionals? As a lawyer, you must be asking this question and seeking solutions.
A potential solution to this dilemma may lie in integrating emotional resilience training into legal education as a core part of the curriculum. This could help prepare future legal professionals to handle the intense pressures of their work, including the fear of failure.
It is obvious that this training doesn’t encourage lawyers to make mistakes; rather it allows them to accept that errors can occur, understand the consequences, and then undertake the steps needed to rectify them. By fostering a mindset that embraces errors as opportunities to learn and grow, the paralysing fear of failure can be reduced.
Furthermore, creating an environment that openly discusses failure without immediate judgment or severe repercussions is essential. Encouraging dialogue about mistakes aids in normalising them as a part of every professional’s life, including attorneys and advocates. By doing so, it lessens the burden of perfectionism that so many lawyers carry and significantly mitigates the effects of imposter syndrome.
Avoiding Display of Confidence
Another sign of imposter syndrome is the avoidance of demonstrative confidence. This could be out of fear that others may perceive that you think too highly of your abilities. In short, you are wary of appearing ‘cocky’, causing you to downplay your skills and knowledge.
Surprisingly, the answer lies in the culture of the legal field itself, which tends not to celebrate success as much as other professions. The reason being? Adversity and hardship are typically associated with credibility and authenticity.
In law, success is viewed through a narrow lens, where the focus is predominantly on professional accomplishments. The measure of one is worth becomes tied to the number of career obstacles overcome, long-hour stints pulled off, and sacrifices made. However, we tend to overlook the hefty toll this approach exacts on personal life and overall well-being.
You see, legal professionals, through long hours and high-pressure situations, known that they can persevere and be resilient. Those who face adversity are perceived to be more knowledgeable, experienced, and thus, more competent. With this unspoken expectation, there exists an implicit pressure to voluntarily subject oneself to rigorous situations.
Consequently, legal professionals may suppress their achievements and successes to maintain a façade of productivity through suffering, causing imposter syndrome to become an uninvited guest in the minds of many.
Understanding Imposter Syndrome in the Legal Field
Research indicates that imposter syndrome is particularly prevalent in professions that demand elevated levels of competence and intellectual ability, such as the legal field. The perception of constant evaluation and the fear of public failure often exacerbate feelings of imposter syndrome amongst legal professionals.
This perception is magnified in high-stakes environments such as courtrooms, where even small mistakes can have large impacts. Additionally, the often-competitive nature of law can further fuel feelings of inadequacy, as individuals constantly compare their achievements to those of their peers.
Affecting More People Than You Realise
Imposter syndrome is far more widespread than many realise. A range of studies suggests that approximately 70% of people will experience imposter feelings at some point in their careers, regardless of their success or level of competence.
In the legal field, lawyers, law students, judges, and other professionals are not immune. Surrounded by intelligent, accomplished peers and constantly subjected to high levels of scrutiny, it’s no wonder that legal professionals may feel like they’re always one step away from being discovered as an imposter.
In a recent study by Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill, approximately 20% of lawyers are affected by this psychological phenomenon. This percentage expands as we look at law students, with an astonishing 25-30% frequently experiencing imposter syndrome. These rates serve as a clear indication that imposter syndrome’s reach is far more extensive in the legal field than initially realised.
Young legal professionals, fresh out of university, commonly find themselves thrust into challenging scenarios they were not adequately prepared to handle. The technical legal training received at university level does incorporate practical or skills-based training for instance communications skills, active listening, critical thinking etc. This lack of training during their nascent career stages puts them in a position where they are compelled to ‘fake it till they make it.’ While it is acceptable to adopt this strategy in careers such as sales, its implementation becomes risky in professions where the public relies heavily on your counsel.
This strategy might be successful in the beginning and help them get by it often plants the seed of feeling like an imposter. Ironically, this sense of being an imposter lingers even when they have evolved into skilled and accomplished legal professionals. The ghost of their early years when they were ‘faking it’ haunts them, creating a disconnect between their demonstrated competencies and their internal self-perception, culminating in imposter syndrome.
The Imposter Cycle
Imposter syndrome typically follows a cyclical pattern, often referred to as the ‘imposter cycle’. It begins with an individual being assigned a task. Immediately, they start to feel anxious, worried, and doubtful about their ability to complete the task.
Their concern is not just about the immediate task at hand, but it spirals into doubting their competence. This fear and self-doubt lead them to over-prepare or procrastinate, both of which contribute to an imbalance in their work-life harmony. 
Once the task is complete, instead of feeling content or proud of their work, they may experience a temporary relief. However, any success achieved is often attributed to external factors such as luck, timing, or the task being easy, rather than their own skills or competence. This feeds their belief that they are not competent or skilled, which sets the stage for the imposter cycle to begin again with the next task.
Implications of Imposter Syndrome in the Legal Field
Imposter Syndrome can have damaging effects on a professional’s career trajectory and personal life. It can result in decreased job satisfaction, stifled career growth, unnecessary stress, and job burnout. For law firms and legal departments, it can decrease overall efficiency, team morale, and employee retention. Hence, legal professionals and law firms alike must address this issue promptly and effectively.
Lawyers are expected to be infallible and perform exceptionally – whether from their families, peers, or even society at large. Traditionally, those who gravitate toward the legal field are high achievers from an early age. They have grown accustomed to excelling academically, thrived on praise and recognition, and often are the ones who set and reach impressive goals. However, this can set a dangerous precedent.
Within this framework of continuous achievement, it is easy to develop a deep-seated fear of failure. Coupled with the highly competitive nature of the legal profession, this fear can often morph into Imposter Syndrome. The belief may grow that they are not actually as competent as their achievements suggest, and that eventually someone will “discover” this fact. This is how the seeds of Imposter Syndrome are sown, growing over time to cause distress and anxiety in these high-achieving individuals.
Strategies for Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Now having equipped you with the knowledge of Imposter Syndrome and its manifestation in the legal field, it is time for us to focus on overcoming it. You might feel trapped in a constant loop of self-doubt and fear of exposure, but remember, it does not have to be this way. There are real and practical strategies to help you break free from this mental tug-of-war.
The first step to overcoming imposter syndrome is to recognise and acknowledge your feelings. A self-aware mind is indeed a powerful tool.
Reframing your thoughts can be effective in combating imposter syndrome. However, reframing thoughts takes conscious effort from your side. You need to set aside time to reflect, and rephrase. Instead of dwelling on perfection and the fear of failure, focus on the progress you have made and the value you bring to your profession.
But let us be honest, anyone can make a mistake, and failure is part and parcel of every profession, including law. The key lies in shaping a healthy attitude towards these unavoidable aspects of life. Instead of viewing them as catastrophic, interpret them as a crucial part of your overall growth in your legal career.
Criticism, especially when it is constructive, is also a significant part of personal and professional growth. If you receive constructive feedback, try not to perceive it as a personal attack. Instead, view it as essential advice that can help you improve and excel in your profession. We cannot control people’s responses to us, we can only choose how we will perceive and respond to them.
Criticism is simply the nature of the beast in the legal field. Even judges are subject to criticism from their peers. It is an integral part of the profession, key to refining your reasoning, sharpening your arguments, and fostering your development as a legal professional. In this regard, detachment is crucial; removing yourself emotionally from critiques allows you to view them as impersonal and constructive.
Remember, the number of legal viewpoints on any subject is numerous, therefore differing opinions are completely natural (and even necessary) in this profession.
Upon understanding the root causes of the issues pervading the legal profession, a certain sense of relief sweeps over you. It is a bit like turning on a light inside a previously dark room, letting you see that these daunting obstacles are manageable. Grasping the realities of phenomena such as imposter syndrome can strip them of their power, empowering you to confront and overcome these challenges head-on.
Being a lawyer inherently beckons a stressful and overworked environment, but this need not be the status quo. Such a culture has evolved due to a lack of understanding of how to identify and counter the pitfalls. Many legal professionals might be unaware of terms like ‘imposter syndrome,’ but once presented with its definition and implications, they often find it strikingly familiar. It resonates with their experiences, revealing it as a shared struggle rather than an isolated feeling. This revelation alone can be incredibly freeing, paving the way for you to thrive in your career rather than just survive it.
So, as we stand on the precipice of understanding and change, we must pose a crucial question:
Has the time not arrived for South African legal practitioners to ignite a conversation on these subjects?
Isn’t it time to raise awareness, thereby empowering ourselves and paving the way for future generations?
