Embracing Creativity in the Law
By The legal profession has an antiquated pedagogical style of existence, from court proceedings to the Socratic teaching method. Many lawyers can be conservative and are opposed to taking risks. Therefore, one may speculate this could be the reason why the law is lethargic with advancing particular initiatives. Many feel that creativity should be left outside the law; however, that perspective is erroneous. As society changes, demand for change also increases to meet current needs. As law school has taught many of us, learning the law is not enough; the beauty is applying the law as it comports with the facts of a case. “Making the law dance with the facts” is advocacy, a creative skill set. Creativity and advocacy are inextricably intertwined within the law and should be embraced by the legal profession.
The law and advocacy relationship are synonymous with an engineer and architect. An engineer makes sure the structural components are safe, feasible, and appropriate. An architect uses creative designs of the structure for the aesthetic appearance. Simply put, the architect has a vision, and the engineer seeks to feasibly carry out that vision if the appropriate terrain, equipment, and materials allow. Advocacy is the architect, and the law is the engineer.
I am a huge proponent that we all have superpowers. I try to use my superpowers of charisma, inquisition, empathy, passion, resiliency, authenticity, creativity, and inclusivity to be an advocate for stifled voices to create a more just society. We all have a degree of creativity nested within our respective interests. Still, to be truly effective with our creativity, we must intentionally focus on it with surgical precision for those muscles to be worked out to ensure its peak performance.
Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory
“Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”[i]
We all have gifts and bits of intelligence that stem from personality, experience, and creativity. The multiple intelligence theory is accredited to Harvard Psychology professor Howard Gardner. Gardner mentions multiple intelligences as they comport with an individual’s domain (organizational activity in society that encompasses varying degrees of skill in reference to occupation, hobby, or interests).[ii] Creativity is not a blanket generalization of stereotypical art scenes or literature. Creativity can be with other things such as DIY projects, teaching, cooking, comedy, business plans, and so on. Howard Gardner references his colleague, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi:
Creativity should not be viewed simply as a characteristic of an individual. Rather, creativity emerges from the interaction of three entities: l) the individual, with his given talents, personality, and motivation; 2) the domain – the discipline or craft in which the individual is working; 3) the field – the set of individuals and social institutions that render judgments about quality and originality. [iii]
This view aligns with the notion that everyone has intelligence with some scintilla of creativity. Creativity does not only belong to a subset of the population. Below are the multiple intelligences that Gardner theorizes that each have creativity nested within.
Multiple Intelligences [[iv]]
- Verbal-linguistic intelligence (well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of words)
- Logical-mathematical intelligence (ability to think conceptually and abstractly, and capacity to discern logical and numerical patterns)
- Spatial-visual intelligence (capacity to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly)
- Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (ability to control one’s body movements and to handle objects skillfully)
- Musical intelligences (ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber)
- Interpersonal intelligence (capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of others)
- Intrapersonal (capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes)
- Naturalist intelligence (ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature)
- Existential intelligence (sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence such as, “What is the meaning of life? Why do we die? How did we get here?”)
Since we all have a multitude of intelligences, the legal profession should embrace these various categories to maximize efficiency within the legal profession as it comports with a person’s intelligence.
Creativity is Fundamental to Being a Problem Solver
Creativity is fundamental to problem-solving. It allows one to think outside of the box. The quicker one embraces creativity, the quicker one is able to maximize those neuropathways, which subsequently improves one’s value and position to advocate zealously.
Lawyers are creative regardless of the type of law (litigator, transactional, in-house counsel). Thinking about the constraints of how an attorney must operate within the scope of law but still deliver the desired result that is favorable to their client is remarkable. I call this the “potato philosophy.” Imagine the task you are presented with deals with making a potato cuisine, but you can only use the one potato provided. Working with a potato to develop a meal or snack is the constraint. Creativity allows you to create many innovative uses of the potato. For instance, one could make: (1) a baked potato, (2) potato salad, (3) potato chips, (4) fries, (5) mashed potatoes, (6) hash browns, (7) scalloped potatoes, etc. At the end of the day, it is still a potato regardless of its form. This process is analogous to taking existing law and applying it to existing problems to best advocate for your client and their objectives while working with constraints of the law and the process. Even with the constraints, the potato is utilized innovatively to reach the desired goal of being an edible cuisine.
Creativity can be accentuated in negotiations, trials, and business dealings. In negotiations, it is important to be creative in crafting a receptive narrative that conveys your client’s needs to marry their objectives to a desired settlement or contract. [[v]] Finding a creative way to come to an agreement that is sufficient and beneficial to your client while considering opposing counsel’s client’s needs or desires is a creative skillset. Litigators exercise creativity by using witty closing and opening statements during their case in chief, using statutory interpretation to craft coherent arguments favorable to their position, and using the art of storytelling to illustrate what happened from their client’s perspective. Businesses finding ways to be cost efficient while maximizing profits are creative. Creativity breeds empathy, which is an effective tool for client counseling, regardless of the field of law.
Mental Health Benefits
Generally, creativity has advanced society. On the other side of creativity is growth. We need to embrace it. It is a muscle. If you do not intentionally use it, you do not maximize the creativity in your brain, and one may become one-dimensional and stagnant.
Creativity is also therapy. Creativity is how many survived quarantine by partaking in hobbies or newly found interests such as journaling, meditating, poetry, construction projects, photography, music, and other means of creative expression.
The psychological effect of creativity relieves stress, increases productivity, increases positive thoughts, allows for the release of inner thoughts to provide clarity, and assists in emotional intelligence, and creates happiness, which subsequently contributes to a healthier life. [vi]
Parting Thoughts
Creativity gives people hope. It allows people to turn lemons into lemonade, a tree stump into a table, and pain into progress. It allows us to do more with less. We should not run from what we are naturally are made to do, which is to be creative. The law should not strip us of our creativity; they both should work in tandem.
Indeed, one cannot help but wonder: are some lawyers depressed because they try to suppress their creativity in legal environments by upholding antiquated structural formalities that are inherently inimical to creative thought? Do lawyers resort to substance abuse to unlock their vault of creativity and expression to relax and not consciously think of the structured “now?” Is high substance abuse in the legal profession because creativity is not embraced and considered taboo?
We are not meant to be absent of creative thought. On the contrary, creativity allows us all to become better. To dream is to be creative. This is evident when we picture the ideas of success, wedding plans, vacation plans, family dynamics, the type of life we want to live, or how to approach a legal matter effectively. We are naturally creative, and this ability should not be suppressed.
Writings and thoughts from a charismatic misfit,
Tiqeece Brown, Your Favorite 2L
Esse Quam Videri
Aluta Continua
Always genuine and authentic