2. Skills of a Successful
Lawyer
There are some who have it and some who haven’t skills.
Having the right set of skills of a lawyer can lead a career of
effectiveness and great success. If you’re looking to brush
up your skills, here’s a list of 9 skills to become a better
lawyer
4. Strong Communication Skills
Lawyers must have strong oral communication skills and
written communication skills to correctly relay critical legal
information. As well, a significant portion of a lawyer’s job is
to create strong and organized arguments which are
presented in the courtroom.
5. …
Judges and juries all have their own opinions, beliefs, and
backgrounds so a lawyer’s ability must be able to reach out
to all of them and influence accordingly.
In addition, good listening skills are found in a successful
lawyer. Every client has their own type of their situation.
Lawyers must listen carefully to the details and analyze
what their clients need and how to take action.
6. People Skills
Lawyers are in continuous contact with people is why
people skills are required. The complete system of law has
engagement with people. Judges, clerks, senior partners
and other legal workers are just some of the people which
lawyers will meet on a daily basis. Being able to be
applicable, polite, and respectful are interesting some skills
to consider.
7. …
If this skill lacking in a lawyer, it can lead to some very bad
situations with clients seeking justice for their perceived
mistreatment. Anyway how good a lawyer may be at
formulating arguments and winning cases, maintaining
good relationship develops a best sense of professionalism.
8. Time Management Skills
Lawyers have a heavy workload and can experience
demanding deadlines at short notice. Having the right time
management and organizational skills allows for a lawyer’s
work to be performed more easily and efficiently.
Time management is the core of a lawyer’s work ethics.
Lawyers who prioritize their work and stay ahead of their
tasks can lead to more time to enjoy additional or taking on
more cases.
9. Research Skills
Lawyers will spend a lot of time digging around in archives
and reading up on old cases. Research skills include the
ability to read large amounts of information in short time,
understanding facts, figures, and charts, and analyzing
matter in a way that can be used later are vital structures of
a lawyer.
10. …
Research skills should be effort on early in a lawyer’s career,
to do so, make a habit of summarizing a few important
points from large documents and articles. This is very
helpful when caseloads increase which require more
background details, legal document drafting, and prepare
advice for clients.
11. Detail Oriented
All lawyers have to an eye for details, truth and correctness
is needed to become a successful lawyer.
If a lawyer makes a mistake on a single word it can change
the entire meaning of a contract or a clause. Lawyers must
ensure all their communications, such as email,
letters, lawyer websites and legal documents are always
perfect for giving them to a clients.
12. …
Small mistakes can lead to a bad impression on a client and
a bad experience for a lawyer. The worst case situation
would be a lawyer getting sued for malpractice for mistakes
that could have been avoided.
13. Creativity
The fundamental part of a lawyer’s job is to win cases for
their clients or protect their client’s interests. Being creative
is a skill needed by successful lawyers because it allows for
flexibility and a wide range of possible solutions when
working on a case.
Lawyers have to be both logical and analytical. However,
they should not ignore their creativity. Having that creative
power allows for a lawyer to face any situation, in and out of
the courtroom.
14. Judgment
Although creativity is important, a lawyer also requires
strong judgment at the core of their practice. Lawyers need
the ability to logically and reasonably draw conclusions
based on the limited amount of information they receive.
During a court hearing lawyers must be aware of the
arguments their opponents are making which finding
weaknesses and mistakes in logic through the hearings.
15. Stress Management
Lawyers spend a great amount of time listening to clients
and trying to solve their problems. There are some clients
who have often experienced an extreme incident which
creates a difficult and stressful situation for themselves and
the lawyer. Mentioned early was the importance of having
both people and communication skills, during these high-
stress situations that these skills are needed to help handle
a client’s stress.
16. …
In fact, these same skills are critical for lawyer’s themselves.
Lawyers will occasionally take on the stresses of their
clients. Having the ability to manage stress, both in clients
and within themselves, is a valuable skill to maintain a long-
lasting work as a lawyer.
17. Business Skills
Every lawyer, whether working at a firm or single
practitioner, must be aware of the business side of their
practice. Law is a billable service that receives the
majority of their income by the hours they can bill. If
lawyers lack the necessary business skills to bill their
clients accordingly, it could lead to significant losses for
the firm or personal practice.
