The SGI Reading List :: Are Law Firms Rewarding the Habits They Want to Change?

A Review of The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Reviewed by Kelly Caldwell

Law firms are becoming increasingly clear with their lawyers about the behaviours they want to see more of. 

Delegate more. Mentor junior lawyers. Build stronger client relationships. Make time for business development. Think beyond the work that’s immediately in front of you. All of that sounds right to me, but does the working environment reward this – or does it actually reinforce the opposite behaviour?

That’s one of the questions I kept coming back to as I read Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, and considered it in the context of the lawyers we coach.

Why I Recommend It

The Power of Habit looks at how habits work in our brains and how they shape so much of our daily lives. More importantly, it explores how understanding those habits can help us change them, with implications for our personal lives, our work, business outcomes, and even entire communities.

It’s practical, but what I particularly like is that it moves us away from the “try harder” mentality that is so ingrained in the business of law. Because changing behaviour isn’t necessarily about trying harder. Sometimes, you need to understand what’s reinforcing the behaviour in the first place.

Our Know :: Be :: Do :: Take

For The SGI Reading List Series of blogs, we’re using SGI’s proprietary Know :: Be :: Do :: Method to explore the ideas that stood out, what they ask us to think differently about, and how we can put them into practice.

KNOW :: Understand the Habit Loop

One of Duhigg’s central ideas is that habits operate in a simple, powerful neurological loop:

1. The Cue: Something triggers the behaviour.

2. The Routine: We perform the habitual action.

3. The Reward: We receive some kind of payoff or reward that reinforces the loop.

If you want to change a habit, Duhigg’s framework suggests that the most effective approach is to keep the cue and reward, but change the routine in between.

That idea becomes particularly interesting when you apply it to lawyers. Consider the billable-hour habit loop:

1. The Cue: Work comes in.

2. The Routine: You do the work yourself.

3. The Reward: You record the hours and receive tangible, immediate evidence that you’ve been productive.

The loop is clear, immediate, and reinforced every single day. 

But what if we compare that with delegating work, mentoring junior lawyers, developing client relationships, or generating new business? Those activities are enormously valuable to a lawyer’s long-term success and to the firm's growth, but their rewards are often delayed and much less visible.

A firm can tell its lawyers to “delegate more” or “originate more,” but it’s hard to make progress in those areas if the work environment rewards the opposite behaviour. This isn't a motivation problem – it’s a habit loop problem.

BE :: Stop Assuming Willpower is the Answer

Another idea that stayed with me is that willpower alone doesn’t tend to change habits.

We often approach behavioural change by telling ourselves, or others, to be more disciplined, more committed or more intentional.

But what if we looked instead at the system producing the behaviour?

If lawyers are consistently behaving in a certain way, it’s worth asking what cues and rewards are reinforcing that behaviour. What does the environment make easy? What does it make difficult? What gets recognized? What provides an immediate sense of accomplishment?

Changing the answers to those questions may be much more effective than simply asking people to try harder.

DO :: Look for the Keystone Habit

One of my other big takeaways from The Power of Habit is the idea of “keystone habits”.

You don’t necessarily need to overhaul everything at once. Changing one strategically important habit can spill over into other areas, influencing both how you behave and how you see yourself.

For lawyers, that creates an interesting question.

What’s one small habit that, if changed consistently, could make other important behaviours easier?

• Maybe it’s delegating one appropriate task before automatically doing it yourself.

• Maybe it’s protecting a small, 15-minute block of time each week for relationship-building .

• Maybe it’s making mentoring part of an existing weekly workflow rather than something you’ll get to "when you have time".

The point isn’t the specific habit. It’s identifying a change that can become repeatable and that begins to shift the larger system around it.

Who Should Read It?

I think any lawyer can benefit from The Power of Habit. 

We all have habits, whether we’ve consciously chosen them or not. And in a profession where “work harder” and “try harder” can become default responses to almost any challenge, there’s real value in looking at behaviour differently.

Instead of asking, “Why can’t I make myself do this?” try asking: “What’s reinforcing the way I’m doing it now?” 

That may be a much more useful place to start.

Want to read or listen to the book? Access it here.