Conventional wisdom states that your book smarts and work ethic will propel you to greater heights as a lawyer. But what about your emotional quotient (EQ)? Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is the ability of individuals to accurately recognise, understand and manage their own emotions and those of others. Emotionally intelligent people are skilled at reading other people’s emotions and choosing an appropriate reaction accordingly. This session will be divided into two parts. The first part initially focuses on the history and background of emotional intelligence, whose term was popularised in the mid-1990s, and covers five main areas: self-awareness, emotional control, self-motivation, empathy and relationship skills. Attorneys from the transactional and litigation worlds will give their opinion about how they draw on their EQ in the practice of law to achieve better results for their clients. The second part of the session will be devoted to the use of EQ in the workplace. Merely producing great results is not a guarantee of success; really successful attorneys have the ability to interact with people above and below their stature in a way that inspires teamwork and commitment. Coming out of law school, the emotionally intelligent lawyer knows how to deal with and placate demanding superiors. As he or she becomes more experienced and manages more people, this lawyer can maximise potential and efforts. In the meantime, the emotionally intelligent lawyer will be also utilising these skills to attract and maintain clients. Panellists spanning the range of experience will speak regarding their observations and provide advice regarding the issues that all of us face as lawyers.