If you’ve got dreams of becoming a lawyer, you’ve probably spent a lot of time considering what skills you need to lead a successful career in the law industry. Succeeding as a lawyer requires several years of intense studying at law school, followed by years of real-life experience in the field.
Whether you want to enter the field of employment law, family law, or motor accident law, you need to become an expert in your chosen specialty. You need to know what you’re talking about and convey this to potential clients, so they choose to hire you over your competitors.
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What Skills Do You Need to Become a Successful Lawyer?
It’s not just about your expertise, although this is a very important component in your success as a lawyer. You need a plethora of skills to succeed in the field of law and work at a reputable law firm like Pringle Chivers Sparks Teskey. Let’s take a closer at the skills you need to develop and perfect in order to succeed as a lawyer.
Specialty knowledge
There are hundreds of different legal specialties that you can enter as a lawyer. While you might think having generalized knowledge of a wide range of specialisms is better, the opposite is true. It’s much better to have a high level of knowledge in a specific area of law and become an expert.
When a person is searching for a lawyer, they often want somebody who has extensive knowledge about the specific issue that they’re dealing with. Therefore, choosing a specialism can increase your chances of being hired.
A high level of confidence
You can’t be shy when you’re standing up in front of a judge and jury in court, or you’re interviewing witnesses and liaising with the police. You need to be confident in your abilities and be sure of yourself!
Displaying confidence not only attracts new clients but also increases your chances of winning your clients’ cases, so it’s a crucial skill to possess when you want to succeed.
Great social skills and communication skills
With every legal case you work on, you’ll be liaising with a wide range of people, including the client, witnesses, police, other lawyers, judges, and juries. You need to have great at socializing and adapting your communication styles depending on who you’re interacting with.
When you’re interacting with clients and gathering sensitive information, you need to know how to communicate in a kind and empathetic way. Doing so makes them feel as comfortable as possible, so they’re more likely to open up and share more details about their case.
Your social skills and communication skills are also vital when you’re representing a client in court. You need to act professionally and speak clearly while also displaying your expertise to convince the judge and jury to sway in your client’s favor.