Published in 2025, Ronda Muir’s second edition of her user-friendly best-selling Beyond Smart: Lawyering with Emotional Intelligence, available in paperback or e-book, updates the research that shows how lawyers in all walks of the profession can use the burgeoning science of emotional intelligence (EI) to address the pressing issues individual lawyers and practices are currently being confronted with, including how to:

  • Become smarter, better practitioners – as negotiators, civil and criminal litigators, and judges;
  • Be personally more productive and profitable;
  • Become physically and mentally healthier in an era of high post-Covid stress;
  • Be more effective leaders in an increasingly challenging profession;
  • Develop practices that can thrive in a competitive and technologically complex marketplace, so as to be able to outperform even the rise of artificial intelligence;
  • Build practices that profit from higher emotional intelligence through increased performance, enhanced teamwork, and greater client satisfaction, as well as lower attrition, healthcare, and professional liability costs;
  • Address the workplace issues arising from remote work, high-stress and disengagement that are bedeviling legal practices; and
  • Take the steps available to individuals, law schools, and workplaces to raise personal and profession-wide emotional intelligence.

For legal professionals wanting to improve their productivity, communication, client service and leadership skills and create a high performance, high functioning and more profitable workplace in the 21st century, there is no better

To order your copy of the second edition, go to: BEYOND SMART: LAWYERING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Praise for Beyond Smart comes from lawyer leaders throughout the industry:

“Emotional intelligence is one of the most important, yet overlooked, areas of law practice…. Ronda Muir has written what is instantly the standard in the field. It is a gift for lawyers and legal educators alike.” Daniel S. Bowling, III, Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke Law School 

“Every managing partner needs to read this book…. The good news is that there are things that can be done to improve emotional intelligence.” Sir Anthony Salz, former Chair, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

“A must read for in-house counsel striving to navigate internal management emotions while enhancing the probability of successful external interactions.” Steven Overly, senior legal leader over a 30-year career at Lockheed Martin, General Electric, NUI, Cirrus Logic and other companies

“In the face of challenges to law firms, the proven power of Emotional Intelligence is needed to assure success, indeed to assure survival. EI is not a frill, it is a core competence.” Michael Mills, Co-Founder, President of Neonta Logic, Inc., formerly a partner at Mayer Brown

“Muir provides the scientific background for what many of us have long suspected about what makes for a successful lawyer or judge, and couples this science with practical advice to address problems all lawyers face.” Christopher L. Kaufman, Senior M&A Partner, Latham & Watkins, LLP

“Ronda Muir displays her mastery of emotional intelligence in this enlightening and comprehensive book…. Thoroughly researched and thoughtfully organized.” Randall Kiser, Principal Analyst, DecisionSet, author of several books including forthcoming Soft Skills for the Effective Lawyer

“Muir gives us compelling examples of lawyers who have gained from high EI and those who have suffered from its absence…. Attorneys appear to underrate EI as a critical skill. Muir challenges us to think more deeply about EI and how it can help us to become more accomplished lawyers and have more satisfying personal lives.” David Katsky, Founding partner, Litigation Department Leader, Katsky Korins

Ronda Muir’s first edition of BEYOND SMART: LAWYERING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, published by the ABA, is the first comprehensive guide to understanding, using and raising emotional intelligence in the unique context of law practice. You can order a copy either as a paperback or eBook. 

Everyone is familiar with “IQ”—intelligence quotient. Most lawyers put their IQ scores up there with their SAT and LSAT scores as generally acknowledged evidence of their competence. But what is your emotional intelligence quotient? And why should you care?

“Emotional intelligence” (EI) is the ability to recognize, understand, and regulate our own and others’ emotions. Industries worldwide have incorporated EI into their education, hiring, training, and management programs to maximize performance.

Beyond Smart explains the origins of EI, a lawyer’s historic role in developing the concept, how lawyers compare in EI to other professionals and how to determine your level of EI. Beyond Smart also outlines:

  • Why emotionally intelligent lawyers are smarter, better practitioners (negotiators, litigators and judges), make more money, and are physically and mentally healthier
  • How emotionally intelligent workplaces profit from more effective leadership, greater performance, enhanced teamwork, and increased client satisfaction, as well as lower attrition, healthcare and professional liability costs
  • Why emotionally intelligent practices can thrive in an increasingly competitive and technologically complex marketplace, even outperforming artificial intelligence
  • The steps individuals, workplaces and law schools can take  to raise emotional intelligence

This user-friendly, practical resource is designed for today’s legal professional who desires to improve their communication, client service and leadership skills and create a high performance, high functioning workplace.