Assistant Dean Jill Backer talks about how grit skills breed success for lawyers
Jill Backer, our Assistant Dean for Career and Professional Development, writes, "Grit, defined as “strength of character involving courage and resolve”, is a new discussion in the legal field in the last few years. The ABA created The Grit Project and numerous articles have been written on grit and millennial lawyers and grit and women attorneys. The ongoing cognitive dissonance between legal hiring and required competencies to perform successfully as a lawyer is surprising. Moreover, the long-held belief by legal employers that hiring for credentials — such as highly ranked law school or GPA — will bring the best batch of lawyers is outdated. As the Assistant Dean of Career and Professional Development at Pace Law School, I have come to believe that grit is the key ingredient for success of lawyers in the 21st century."
