From: deputydawg23x@gmail.com   
      
   Psychology Today    
      
   Ruth Lee Johnson J.D. Ruth Lee Johnson J.D.    
   So Sue Me    
      
   Are Lawyers All Raging Psychopaths?    
   Lawyers are not the only ones who exaggerate.    
      
   Posted Aug 19, 2014    
      
      
      
      
   The book Wisdom of Psychopaths (link is external) by University of Oxford   
   psychologist Kevin Dutton has received a lot of attention from the media (and   
   has been reviewed in the Washington Post (link is external), Wall Street   
   Journal (link is external),    
   and The Guardian (link is external)). Dutton argues that there are "functional   
   psychopaths" who--unlike criminal psychopaths--use their unempathetic,   
   ruthless, and charismatic personalities to succeed in mainstream society.   
   Dutton goes further, however,    
   to postulate that some jobs are especially fertile grounds for functional   
   psychopaths.    
      
   Based on Dutton's research, the second most psychopathic profession is that of   
   a lawyer. (The first is a CEO). This has spurred a lot of discussion in the   
   legal community (see, e.g., Above the Law (link is external), ABA Law Journal   
   (link is external)).    
      
   Dutton argues that psychopathic traits such as arrogance, ruthlessness,   
   deceitfulness, manipulation, and charisma can help CEOs and attorneys succeed   
   in their professions. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of   
   Mental Disorders (link is    
   external),    
      
   Individuals [with psychopathic personality disorder] are arrogant and   
   self-centered, and feel privileged and entitled. They have a grandiose,   
   exaggerated sense of self-importance and they are primarily motivated by   
   self-serving goals. They seek power    
   over others and will manipulate, exploit, deceive, con, or otherwise take   
   advantage of others, in order to inflict harm or to achieve their goals. They   
   are callous and have little empathy for others' needs or feelings unless they   
   coincide with their own.    
   They show disregard for the rights, property, or safety of others and   
   experience little or no remorse or guilt if they cause any harm or injury to   
   others. They may act aggressively or sadistically toward others in pursuit of   
   their personal agendas and    
   appear to derive pleasure or satisfaction from humiliating, demeaning   
   dominating, or hurting others. They also have the capacity for superficial   
   charm and ingratiation when it suits their purposes. They profess and   
   demonstrate minimal investment in    
   conventional moral principles and they tend to disavow responsibility for   
   their actions and to blame others for their own failures and shortcomings.    
      
   At one point, Dutton speaks to a successful attorney who told him: "Deep   
   inside me there's a serial killer lurking somewhere. But I keep him amused   
   with cocaine, Formula One, booty calls, and coruscating cross-examination."   
   Adding fuel to the fire, law    
   professor M.E. Thomas (a pseudonym) published Confessions of a Sociopath (link   
   is external), arguing that being a sociopath made her a better attorney. (link   
   is external)    
      
   On one hand, psychopathic traits of self-confidence, cold-heartedness,   
   manipulation, deceitful charm, and ruthlessness might help in some legal   
   situations. But this view, taken alone, is very simplistic. A psychopathic   
   inability to be honest, be    
   considerate, and "play nice" can be absolutely career-ending for a lawyer.   
   Although it is not apparent from shows about lawyers on television, lawyers   
   get disbarred all the time (link is external) for carrying out some of the   
   "psychopathic" behavior    
   described above. The American Bar Association ("ABA") enforces its Rules of   
   Professional Responsibilty (link is external) actively, and a lawyer that   
   behaves unethically not only risks losing his job at a law firm, but of   
   getting sanctioned (link is    
   external) by the ABA or by a court. In fact, the author of Confessions of a   
   Sociopath admits that her sociopathic tendencies got her fired from a top-tier   
   law firm. (link is external)    
      
   Law is seldom as dramatic or hostile as portrayed on television; and for most   
   attorneys, courtesy, professionalism, respect, and honesty is paramount. These   
   traits are required in order to win over clients, deal with opposing counsel   
   productively, settle    
   on cases that should be settled, interact with other lawyers on a regular   
   basis, gain referrals from colleagues, and not aggravate judges (who tend to   
   detect and abhor attempts at manipulation, gaming, unnecessary aggression, or   
   dishonesty).    
      
   Early in my career, I spoke with one of the most successful litigators in   
   America, known for his unparalleled history of legal victories in court.   
   Although he had won some of the largest cases in U.S. history, he did not   
   define a good lawyer by wins    
   alone. Instead, he said that a good attorney is an attorney who can get a   
   positive recommendation from: (1) a client that he represented and lost a case   
   for; and (2) a lawyer that he opposed and won a case against.    
      
   Let's see a psychopath do that.    
      
   ....    
      
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   https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/so-sue-me/201408/are-lawyer   
   -all-raging-psychopaths   
      
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