Book Review: Leading in the Law With Emotional Intelligence: The Path to Becoming a Twenty-First-Century Leader

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Leading in the Law with Emotional Intelligence: The Path to Becoming a Twenty-First-Century Leader. By Rob Durr & Cliff Zimmerman. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2025. 342 p. Includes index. ISBN 9781531029654 (softcover) US$49.50; ISBN 9781531029661 (eBook) US$39.60.

Reviewed by Marnie Bailey
Manager, Knowledge Services
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is the “capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and our relationships.”[1] As I read this book, I considered questions like: how might having emotional intelligence improve one’s lawyering and leadership abilities? Are we born with emotional intelligence, or can we learn it?

Leading in the Law with Emotional Intelligence: The Path to Becoming a Twenty-First-Century Leader is a workbook-style text that blends reflective writing exercises, self-discovery activities, and practice questions with scholarly discussion. Authors Rob Durr and Cliff Zimmerman both teach at an American law school. Zimmerman is a full-time law professor, and Durr, a licensed psychologist, serves as an adjunct professor. The back-and-forth between discussions of academic research into emotional intelligence and real-life examples takes a bit of getting used to, but overall, the book flows well. The writing has a conversational tone, and I could tell that the authors truly care about improving the emotional intelligence of their readers.

The first two chapters are an introduction to EQ and why it matters for lawyers, and the third discusses self-awareness and how it can improve your EQ. These three chapters and their corresponding self-discovery exercises set the stage for the remainder of the book, which discusses a four-domain model of emotional and social intelligence: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and relationship management. The last four chapters review these domains in detail.

While the book is geared toward lawyers, and all the situations and examples are specific to law firms, the research discussion can apply to any profession. Self-discovery breaks, images, and graphs forced me to slow down and think about what was written in the prior sections and actually use the tips provided.

The eBook comes with practice questions that pop up on the side of the screen. These are very literal; for example, the proper answer to one question was “authentic self” and my response of “true self” was marked as incorrect. These pop-up questions do not always make sense for the topic and can distract from the reading. They are created by the eBook’s AI technology and are not originally part of the book, so this would not be a problem if I were reading the print version.

I felt interspersing the workbook/self-discovery sections with the research and discussion on emotional intelligence was a good choice for this type of book. If the reader is truly following the suggestions and using the self-discovery opportunities to reflect (on things like the attributes of a good leader, their own personal triggers, and relationship management), they will come away with an overall improved understanding of their emotional intelligence. I think all relationships could benefit from this, whether they are workplace or personal ones.

As I was reading this book and working through the self-discovery exercises, I reflected on the leaders I have worked with throughout my career in special libraries and, previously, in hospitality. I realized that I have learned more from those who were not always empathetic to their employees, as they made me think at the time, “If I am ever a manager, I will make sure not to treat my team like this!” Now I am a manager of a small team in a law firm where I am also responsible for training summer and articling students in research methods. Doing the exercises in this book has shown me how I can grow my own emotional intelligence to ensure I am a positive force for all those who come to the library for assistance.

Leading in the Law with Emotional Intelligence is an interesting and insightful read for anyone in any occupation. It is written in an approachable manner and invites the reader to expand and grow their leadership and relationship skills. I highly recommend this book to everyone, not just those in a leadership position, as the practical steps explored for expanding empathy and self-awareness are something that can be used to help build relationships in all aspects of life.

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[1] This is the definition given by Daniel Goleman, who coined the term “Emotional Quotient” in his 1995 book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (Bantam Books).