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As email and messaging take over legal communication, a quieter but far more consequential shift is emerging as young lawyers lose the once essential skill of the phone call, and the effects are beginning to ripple through the profession in ways many are yet to fully recognise.
In an era where legal work is increasingly conducted through emails, Teams messages, and Slack channels, a quieter but significant shift is taking hold inside law firms, as a growing number of young lawyers become “phone shy” and, in the process, begin to lose what was once an essential but now fading skill: the art of the phone call.
While digital communication has undeniably streamlined legal practice, the phone was not simply a tool of convenience, but a cornerstone of professional practice that shaped how lawyers built relationships, resolved issues, and progressed matters in real time.
Speaking with Lawyers Weekly, Sam Shosanya, general manager of FrontTier, the College of Law’s leadership accelerator, and Leonie Green, legal practice management course coordinator, the College of Law, unpacked why this phenomenon is emerging and what it could signal for the future of the profession.
A generation raised on writing, not voice
Pointing to the fact that young lawyers have grown up in a world of text-based communication, Sam Shosanya noted they are accustomed to carefully crafting and controlling their messages before they are sent, a habit that is increasingly shaping how they approach professional interaction.
“Many early-career lawyers have grown up communicating primarily through text-based channels where they have time to think, edit, and control their responses – and thus their reputation,” Shosanya said.
“The pandemic accelerated this trend by normalising remote work, digital communication, and reduced in-person interaction during formative academic and professional years.”
Shosanya also pointed to the influence of social media in reinforcing a culture of curation, where individuals present a polished, carefully constructed version of themselves – a dynamic that disappears in real-time conversation.
“At the same time, social media has reinforced the idea that people should present the ‘best version’ of themselves publicly – polished, considered and curated,” Shosanya said.
“Phone conversations remove that safety net. They involve spontaneity, unpredictability, and real-time interaction where you cannot carefully craft every response.”
Leonie Green expressed how she is also observing the same trend emerging, with young lawyers becoming increasingly “phone shy” after growing up in a world where text-based communication feels safer, more controlled, and far less exposing than speaking in real time.
“The generation entering the workforce today has largely grown up communicating through text-based platforms. Messaging feels safer, more controllable, and less exposing than real-time conversation,” Green said.
“You can edit your thoughts, soften your wording, rethink your response, and avoid the unpredictability that comes with a live interaction.”
However, she stressed this has been amplified by pandemic-era study and remote work, leaving many early-career lawyers without informal, real-time learning from proximity – watching senior practitioners manage tone, absorb pressure, and navigate live conversations.
“For many early-career professionals, particularly after years of study and then pandemic-era remote learning and work, there has also simply been less exposure to informal verbal communication in professional settings,” Green said.
“Historically, junior lawyers overheard difficult conversations, listened to senior practitioners negotiate, watched how people built rapport with clients, and learned by observation. Much of that incidental learning has reduced significantly.”
But Green emphasised that the issue is not one of capability or work ethic, noting that while many junior lawyers are highly effective written communicators, verbal and written communication remain distinct skills – both essential to the practice of law.
“Importantly, though, I do not think this is about capability or work ethic. Many junior lawyers communicate exceptionally well in writing. The challenge is that written communication and verbal communication are different skills, and both matter in legal practice,” Green said.
What is being lost when conversations are avoided
While some may dismiss this shift in communication style as inconsequential, the pair argued the real concern runs far deeper than day-to-day performance.
Green stressed that the most significant growth in a lawyer’s career rarely happens behind a desk alone, but is instead forged in the pressure of live conversations that build confidence, sharpen judgement and deepen professional trust.
“Some of the most important professional development in legal practice happens through human interaction rather than technical legal work alone,” Green said.
“Confidence often develops through repeated exposure to conversations that initially feel uncomfortable: calling a client with difficult advice, clarifying misunderstandings quickly, managing emotion, negotiating competing expectations, or simply building trust with colleagues.”
With legal communication increasingly confined to screens, she warned that the tone, empathy, and human connection at the heart of trust and effective communication risk being lost between the lines of a message.
“When communication becomes overly text-based, there is a risk that lawyers miss out on developing nuance. Tone, pacing, warmth, hesitation, confidence, and empathy are much easier to understand verbally than through email or Teams messages,” Green said.
Shosanya echoed those concerns, arguing that many of the skills essential for long-term career success are forged through in-person and live interactions that cannot be replicated or scripted.
“Some of the most important professional skills are developed through live interaction and refining the skill of reading tone, cadence of speech, breathing patterns, building trust, thinking on your feet, and observing how experienced professionals communicate under pressure,” Shosanya said.
On top of that, he warned that the decline in phone conversations is quietly undermining the ability to build meaningful relationships, stressing that trust and connection are rarely formed through perfectly drafted emails alone.
“Relationships are rarely built through perfectly drafted emails alone. That’s because people tend to buy the person/relationship first and then rationalise decisions with logic afterwards, which means trust and connection matter enormously in professional relationships,” Shosanya said.
“Junior lawyers who rely only on digital communication can find it harder to build that connection compared with those willing to have direct conversations over the phone, where nuance and personality can be injected.”
By substituting these crucial interactions with digital communication, Shosanya warned that professionals risk quietly stalling their career development, particularly in areas such as influence, negotiation, client management, and professional confidence.
“Avoiding these interactions can unintentionally slow down development, particularly in areas like influence, negotiation, client management, and professional confidence,” Shosanya said.
“There is also something fundamentally developmental about learning to navigate unscripted conversations where outcomes are uncertain and responses cannot be rehearsed.”
Why the phone still matters
As digital communication tools continue to reshape the modern workplace, the duo emphasised that they cannot – and will not – replace the nuance, immediacy, and relational depth of real-time conversation that phone calls provide.
Green pointed to a simple reason for this shift, stressing that law remains, at its core, a people profession built on human interaction rather than process alone.
“Because law is ultimately a people profession,” Green said.
“Lawyers do not just analyse legislation or draft documents. They advise people, influence outcomes, manage conflict, build trust, negotiate, reassure, challenge, and communicate under pressure.”
While acknowledging the efficiency of digital tools, she explained that phone conversations continue to offer lawyers access to crucial information and real-time insight that simply cannot be captured in written communication.
“A phone call also allows lawyers to gather information that may never appear in writing. You can hear uncertainty, stress, hesitation, or confusion in someone’s voice. You can test understanding in real time. You can adapt your communication immediately,” Green said.
Shosanya also highlighted the distinct advantage of phone calls over drawn-out email threads, noting their ability to cut through confusion in real time, defuse emotional tension, and swiftly restore clarity and understanding.
“A five-minute phone call can resolve misunderstandings, de-escalate conflict, strengthen relationships way more effectively than a long email chain,” Shosanya said.
“Phone conversations also allow lawyers to gather nuance, context, and emotional signals that are often completely lost in written communication. A phone conversation often provides an immediacy that isn’t otherwise achievable.”
As AI and automated communication tools become increasingly embedded in legal practice, he argued that human conversational skills will only grow in value, becoming a key differentiator for both lawyers and the firms they represent.
“As AI becomes more prevalent and more communication becomes automated, genuinely human skills such as connection, empathy, presence, and conversational confidence are likely to become even more valuable,” Shosanya said.
“In that environment, strong interpersonal communication may become a real differentiator not only for individual lawyers, but also for firms seeking to build trust-based client relationships. Actually, is there any other kind?”
