Breaking Precedent: Assessing the leadership behavior of young lawyers in Los Angeles, California

Abstract

This study used the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X-Short to assess the leadership behavior of young lawyers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand the type of leadership behaviors that young lawyers in Los Angeles, California engage in according to the full range theory of leadership. E-mail invitations were sent to 2,026 lawyers in Los Angeles, California who were first licensed to practice law in California on or after January 1, 2011. One hundred and seventy-seven complete survey responses were received from the target study population. The results were imported and analyzed in SPSS. T-tests, ANOVAs, and a general linear repeated measures ANOVA were conducted. Young lawyers reported engaging in transformational leadership behaviors significantly more frequently than active-transactional and passive-avoidant leadership behaviors. However, they reported engaging in transformational and active-transactional leadership behaviors significantly less frequently than non-lawyers based on a norm sample. Male lawyers reported engaging in four transformational leadership behaviors significantly more frequently than female young lawyers. Male young lawyers also reported engaging in one passive-avoidant leadership behavior more frequently than female young lawyers. Finally, young lawyers who had attended a leadership development program after law school reported engaging in two transformational leadership behaviors significantly more frequently than young lawyers who had not. Young lawyers who had attended a leadership development program after law school also reported engaging in one active-transactional leadership behavior more frequently than young lawyers who had not.