Thin-Skinned - by Larry R Richard & D'Arcy Lyness (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Practicing law has always had its fair share of stressors. Lawyers are often entrusted with sensitive or high-stakes problems to solve; they often face urgent and inflexible deadlines; they may have to navigate significant values conflicts; and the workload can be overwhelming at times. But in today's environment of escalating change, there's an added source of stress that's affecting lawyers everywhere: uncertainty.

Uncertainty activates the brain's threat-sensing circuitry. This type of threat response can raise stress and anxiety for anyone. But research over the past thirty-plus years by Dr. Larry Richard shows that lawyers have seven strong but atypical personality traits which help them practice high-quality law, but which make them more vulnerable to the damaging effects of uncertainty.

The most pervasive of these traits is lawyers' low level of Resilience. Resilience is the psychological ability to adapt resourcefully to stress, problems, setbacks, criticism, or crises, and Dr. Richard's data show that most lawyers score lower on this trait than most other people. Fortunately, emerging science in psychology, neuroscience, and related fields over the past two decades has provided antidotes to this problem. In Thin-Skinned, Dr. Richard and his wife, licensed psychologist Dr. D'Arcy Lyness, explain the challenges lawyers face in the legal profession and offer readers four broad evidence-based strategies (including more than 50 different self-improvement practices that any lawyer can deploy). By adopting one or more of these, readers can repair the effects of stress, inoculate themselves against future stressors, and, in the process, build greater well-being, life satisfaction, and workplace effectiveness.

Thin-Skinned is an evidence-based field guide to raising resilience, managing stress, and improving well-being using proven principles of behavioral science.

Review Quotes

Praise for Thin-Skinned:

"Larry Richard has long been the leading
psychologist working with lawyers and

law firms. He feels your pain; better yet, he understands
it. His book will help you

get through the long night of unreasonable expectations,
unrelenting clients, and

persistent, unmentionable self-doubt."
--Aric Press,
former Editor-in-Chief, American Lawyer

"Relatable, personal, practical, comprehensive,
credible, exceptionally well

researched, lots of very practical and well researched
self-help tools, great examples,

not just for lawyers!"
--Dr. Harold Weinstein,
organizational psychologist, and co-developer of The Caliper
Profile

"Law firm leaders who care about the long-term
health and performance of

their lawyers should pay close attention to this book. With
practical exercises and

compelling examples, Dr. Richard and Dr. Lyness show how
lawyers can lower stress,

strengthen resilience, and adapt effectively to our
increasingly competitive and

uncertain times."
--Dr. Heidi K. Gardner,
Distinguished Fellow, Harvard Law School; co-author of Smarter
Collaboration

"Larry was ahead of the curve with his insights
into how lawyers' brains work and

why we are prone to stress, anxiety, and burnout. This is a
must-read for law firm

leaders and a practical how-to for lawyers trying to improve
their resilience!"
--Jami McKeon, Chair of the Firm, Morgan Lewis &
Bockius

"Anyone looking to be a law firm leader needs to
read this book. It offers outstanding

insights into the personality of lawyers. The books provides
helpful strategies to

maximize your success and will make a world of difference to
your colleagues."
--John Murphy, Partner and former National Managing
Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais (largest law firm in Canada)

"When we need attorneys, like when we need doctors,
we want them to be at their

best. This requires not only legal knowledge and skill but
also personal resilience

so that our lawyers can be vigilant guardians of our
welfare. This comprehensive

and readable book offers hard-working lawyers annotated,
science-based practices,

organized so they can choose how they can boost both their
professional

performance and their personal well-being in ways that suit
them best. Dr. Larry

Richard and Dr. D'Arcy Lyness have distilled years of
research and experience to

offer their expert opinions in nontechnical language,
including helpful asides and

summaries. Their perspective can also benefit those lawyers
who aspire to be leaders

as well as those who want to understand what makes lawyers
different from other

professions. Finally, their book also provides valuable
guidance for law students to

enhance their success both before and after they graduate."
--Professor
Lisle Baker, Suffolk University Law School, Boston; 2023 Outstanding Practitioner,
International Positive Psychology Association

"Having worked with Larry Richard for over two
decades, I am always reminded

of the need to focus on resiliency--for myself as a lawyer
and as a leader of legal

teams. This new book, co-written with his wife, D'Arcy
Lyness, is a must read at this

moment in time when lawyers face unprecedented challenges
regardless of area of

expertise or geography. Each chapter provides great tips on
how to manage stress

and uncertainty, as well as improve your leadership skills,
while acknowledging

there is no one-size-fits-all solution."
--Lucy
Fato, EVP, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Seaport Entertainment
Group; former General Counsel, AIG Insurance

"Thin-Skinned is a
remarkable book. By providing us with a deeper understanding of resilience, why
it's in low supply among lawyers and what firms and individuals

can do to increase it, Larry Richard and D'Arcy Lyness have
done something so

rare in social science research: They've provided a simple
and powerful unlock for

anybody who cares about this space. Whether you're a law
firm leader, a consultant

who works with lawyers, a technologist trying to get lawyers
to use your products, or

a lawyer or aspiring lawyer, you owe it to yourself to pick
this book up and read it as

soon as possible."
--Matt Dixon, co-author of The
Activator Advantage (2025); Founding Partner, DCM Insights

"Dr. Larry Richard brings decades of research and
insight into one of the legal

profession's most pressing problems--resilience. In Thin-Skinned,
he and Dr.

D'Arcy Lyness translate cutting-edge psychology and
neuroscience into practical,

evidence-based strategies. In an era of increasingly rapid
change for all lawyers, it is

a timely guide to help one thrive in uncertain times."
--Stephen
Poor, former Chairman, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

"Thin-Skinned is the
culmination of a lifetime of insight into one of the legal

profession's most persistent--and least discussed--challenges.
Drawing on decades

of experience, Dr. Larry offers both a clear-eyed diagnosis
and practical path

forward for lawyers and firms seeking stronger performance
and greater resilience.

This is an essential read for anyone committed to improving
their own resilience or

to the long-term health of the profession."
--Susan
Raridon Lambreth, Principal, LawVision; author of ABA best-seller The
Power of Legal Project Management and eight other books on
law firm management