“Sway” and Its Lessons for Law School Applicants

I recently read the new book  Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, by the brilliant authors Ori and Rom Brafman. With searing, powerful anecdotes, they bring to life key lessons about how very smart people can and will make poor, irrational decisions.

The key forces they describe that can result in irrational decision making are:

Loss Aversion: the tendency to go to great lengths to avoid perceived losses.

The Diagnosis Bias: the inability to change one’s mind after an initial, quick diagnosis of a person or situation.

The ‘Chameleon Effect’: the tendency to take on characteristics that have been arbitrarily assigned to us.

As I was reading Sway, I realized that I’ve seen these forces at work in the world of law school applications, legal education, and law-related career choices.

Examples:

Loss Aversion: A law school applicant says, “I want to go to a Top 14 law school (but I don’t have anywhere near the GPA and/or LSAT score to be offered admission there). But I’m going to apply anyway. Everybody’s watching me. If I don’t apply now, I’ll be embarrassed. Admission might happen, and I’ll also apply to some Tier 4 law schools, just to make certain that I’ll have some law school choices. I just can’t stand the thought of not being in school next fall.”

What happens? Inevitably, the applicant is rejected from all of the Top 14 law schools. It’s not a lottery; it’s an analysis. You have to win your argument on a foundation of strong numbers. So only the Tier 4 schools offer this person admission. The applicant feels compelled to start law school at a Tier 4 school. Only later does this person realize that the market of law-related employers tends to ignore job applicants from Tier 4 law schools. Yet the Tier 4 law school experience is quite academically demanding, and the competition is fierce. It can be extremely difficult to get to the top of the class, even in a Tier 4 setting.

How to avoid this problem: Stop. Do not launch applications. Start over again with a comprehensive effort to earn a huge increase on the LSAT. Find appropriate law-related work. Do a great deal of law-related reading. Visit law schools. Work with an experienced prelaw advisor.

The Diagnosis Bias: A law school applicant says, “You know, when I visited the X Law School, the weather was lousy, it was hard to find parking, some people didn’t smile at me when I first walked through the doors, and the admissions office didn’t have much time for me. Forget it. I’m not applying there.”

What happens? The applicant fails to apply to a school that might actually be a great fit.

How to avoid this problem: In the example I’m thinking of, the X Law School happens to be an outstanding law school for lifting its best law students to top jobs with major law-related employers in a highly desired city. It really does a fine job for its best students. To not apply based on such shallow initial reactions is ridiculous. Take the long view. Can a particular law school help you reach your goals? Is it respected in the place(s) where you want to work? Does its name have some market power? If so, it has to be seriously considered. Be willing to reconsider thoughtfully your initial impressions.

The ‘Chameleon Effect’: A graduate an elite law school (I can think of three immediate examples, a brand new Top 3 law school graduate; a Top 14 law school graduate who landed a job with one of the most respected corporate legal departments in the US; and a highly respected elite law school official who needed the bar in that person’s new state of employment) says, in effect: “I am a graduate of one of America’s very best law schools. Therefore, I am extremely bright, like everyone around me there. Therefore, difficult things will automatically come easy to me. Therefore, I am not going to invest too much time and effort in a commercial bar exam prep course for the bar exam I’ll take this summer. As an extremely bright person, I am entitled to bar passage, just like my very bright peers.”

What happens? To the person’s shock and deep embarrassment, the person fails the bar exam. Then colleagues of the person react with the “diagnosis bias,” instantly wondering if a mistake has been made in the hiring decision. The person is now in the “penalty box,” and must fight hard to retain the job offer. Enormous pressure is on the person to pass the bar the second time.

How to avoid this problem: Sign up for the most respected commercial bar exam prep course that serves students who want to pass your state’s bar exam. Give it every ounce of your attention and effort. Employ the strategies that they recommend. Learn from their materials. Go to every class. Put all their information and experience on your side. Do not rely solely on your assumptions when you have expert guides to show you the way.

Could you be making mistakes in the areas of Loss Aversion, Diagnosis Bias, or the Chameleon Effect? If you need assistance in planning for law school, please contact me.