From the Introduction, pages 713-714 [footnotes omitted]:

It is a shameful irony that the occupation that produces the nation’s greatest share of leaders does so little to prepare them for that role. Leadership development is a $45 billion industry, and a search for the term “leadership” on Google Scholar reveals 2,640,000 entries. Yet legal educators have either come late to the party or failed even to put in an appearance. Although many law schools claim to be producing leaders, only a handful offer courses in the subject.

This essay explores what lawyers are missing and how legal education should respond. The stakes are substantial. Although attorneys account for less than one percent of the population, they are well represented at all levels of leadership, as governors, state legislators, judges, prosecutors, general counsel, law firm managing partners, and heads of corporate, government, and nonprofit organizations. Even when they do not occupy top positions in their workplaces, lawyers lead teams, committees, task forces, and charitable initiatives. Their performance in those roles too often leaves much to be desired. Only eleven percent of Americans have a great deal of confidence of leaders in charge of running law firms. In another poll, which asked people what profession they trusted least, lawyers ranked highest; they received twice as many votes as Congressional representatives and used car salesmen. Over two thirds of Americans believe that the nation faces a leadership crisis. Lawyers have, at times, been more part of the problem than the solution.

The discussion that follows proceeds in two parts. Part I explores leadership lessons for lawyers: What are five critical lessons that lawyers should draw from the research on leader effectiveness? Part II identifies lessons for law schools: What does the research on leadership development suggest about the most effective strategies for educating future leaders?