Top Ten Lawyer Skills

 

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Top Ten Legal Skills While legal positions vary greatly in scope and responsibility, there are several core legal skills that are required in most legal functions. If you are considering a career in the law, law, it is wise to polish these top t op ten t en legal legal skills to excel in in today to day’s ’s c omp ompetitive etitive legal market.

1. Oral Commun Comm unication ication Language Langua ge is is o ne of the mos mos t f und undam amental ental tools of the legal legal prof prof essio essional nal.. Legal prof pr of essional essionals s must: Convey inf ormation in a clear c lear,, co ncis ncise, e, and logical manner manner.. Communicate persuasively.  Advoc ate a pos it ition ion o r a cause. c ause. Master legal terminology. Develop keen list listening ening skills.

2. Writt Written en Communicat Communication ion From writing simple correspondence to drafting complex legal documents, writing is an integral integr al function f unction o f nea nearly rly ever every y legal legal position. Leg Legal al prof prof essio essional nals s must: Master the t he stylistic stylist ic and mechani mechanical cal aspects of wri writing. ting. Master the fundamentals of fundamentals  of English grammar. Learn how to write organized, concise and persuasive prose. Draf t ef f ective legal Draf legal documents documents s uch as motions, motions , brief briefs, s, mem memorand orandum ums, s, resolutions reso lutions and legal legal agreem agreements ents..

3. Client Service In the client-focused legal industry, serving the client honestly, capably and responsibly is crucial to success. Legal professionals must master: Rainmaking and client development skills.

 

Custom mer service skills. Custo Client communication skills.

4. Analytical and Logical Reasoning Legal professionals must learn to review and assimilate large volumes of complex information in an efficient and effective manner. Legal analytical and logical reasoning skills include: Reviewi eviewing ng co mplex written writt en doc um uments ents,, drawing inferences inf erences and making making conne co nnect ct ions am among ong legal legal authorities. Developing logic logical al thinking, organizat organization ion and problem-s problem-s olving abilities abilities.. Structuring Struc turing and evaluating arguments arguments.. Using inductive and deductive reasoning to draw inferences and reach conclusions.

5. Legal Research Researching legal concepts, case law, judicial opinions, statutes, regulations and other ot her inf inf orm ormation ation is an important important legal skill. skill. Leg Legal al prof prof essio essional nals s must: Master legal research techniques. Learn how to locate and analyze legal authority. Master the art of statutory interpretation. Learn proper legal legal citatio cit ation. n. Master legal research research s of tware applications applications and Internet Internet resea research. rch.

6. Technology Technolo echnology gy is changi c hanging ng the legal landsc landscape ape and and is an integral part part o f every legal legal f unction. To remain remain ef efff ect ective ive in their their jobs, legal legal prof prof essio essional nals s must must : Master a variety of word processing, presentation, time and billing, and practice-related software applications. Master communications technology including e-mails, voice messaging system sys tems, s, vid videoco eoco nf nfere erencing ncing and related related technology tec hnology.. Become familiar with electronic discovery, computerized litigation support and document management software.

 

prof icient with legal research Become prof research sof so f tware and and Intern Int ernet et research. Develop Dev elop the tech know-how t o make make wise technology decisions.

7. Knowledge of Substantive Law and Legal Procedure  All legal prof ess ionals , even thos t hos e at t he bot to m of the legal c areer chain, must have a basic knowledge knowledge of subst substantive antive law law and lega legall procedure. procedure. Leg Legal al profess prof essional ionals s must have a general general knowledge knowledge of : Local, state st ate and and fede f ederal ral co court urt syst em ems. s. Releva elevant nt f iling deadline deadlines. s. Fundam undamental ental principles of law in the pract pract ice areas in which they t hey work. Relevant legal terminology.

8. Time Management In a prof ess ession ion based on a business business model (bill (billabl able e hours) t hat ties productivi product ivity ty to to financial gain, legal professionals are under constant pressure to bill time and manage large lar ge workloads. workloads. There Thereff ore, legal legal prof essio essional nals s must dev develop: elop: Superior multi-tasking skills.  A strong st rong wo rk ethic. et hic. The ability to juggle competing priorities. The ability to meet tight deadlines. Calendar management skills.

9. Organiz Organiz ation In order to manage large volumes of data and documents, legal professionals must develop dev elop top-not t op-not ch organ organizational izational s kil kills, ls, including: including: The ability to sort, order and manage large volumes of exhibits, documents, f ile iles, s, evi eviden dence, ce, data and other o ther inform inf ormation. ation. The ability ability to ide identif ntif y objectives, catalogue data data and create create an eff ect ective ive organization organ ization s truct tructure ure from fro m mass massive ive am amounts of unr unrela elated ted inform inf ormation. ation. The ability ability to t o use tec hnology appli applicatio cations ns t hat ass ist in mana managin ging g case-rel case- related ated data.

 

10. Teamwork Legal prof Legal prof ess essional ionals s do not work in a vacuum vacuum.. Even solo pra pract ct itioners must must rel rely y on secretaries and support staf s taf f and team up with with co-c co -c ounsel, exper experts ts and ven vendors dors to to deliver legal services. Moreover, since the needs of the client may transcend the skills of one att orney orney,, one paralega paralegall or one practice group, teamwork teamwork is essential to individual and organizational success. Teamwork skills include: Collaborating with other Collaborating ot hers s to rea reach ch a co com mmon goal. Coordina Coo rdinating ting and sharing inf inf ormation and knowledge. knowledge. Cultivating relationships Cultivating relationships with co lle lleagu agues, es, staf s taf f , clients, experts experts , vendors vendors and others.  Attt ending and partic ipating in t eam event  At events, s, me meet etings ings and c onf erences .