So, you have passed the exams, made it through your degree, and made it to becoming a lawyer. You must know it all by now. Ready to join any company, such as Lamber Goodnow Injury Lawyers, looking to take on new talent like yours. Well, that is how it feels it should be.
Unfortunately, this may not be the case and until you get the years’ worth of experience under your belt, you may feel out of your depth. The theoretical skills and knowledge you have attained will definitely be useful but that isn’t where your learning should stop. Fortunately, there are plenty of places to get advice on how to mitigate your lack of experience.
Read ahead to find out some top tips on how to excel as a new lawyer and really push for excellence in your career.
1. Teamwork
Everyone has seen the Tv dramas that depict the cutthroat world of litigation and law. Everyone is trying to get something over on someone else. Whilst some people may be like that, most aren’t and the best way to get through the harsh times of being new in your employment is to use teamwork and thrive within your team. It is not only essential in law but other work as well.
You need to be able to respect others’ opinions and empathize with where they are coming from. Having a strong team with you can mean that your hardest battles are a little easier. Also, if people enjoy working with you, they may recommend you to others which will undoubtedly help your upward career trajectory.
2. Initiative
Using teamwork so you can thrive is one weapon in your arsenal, but you should never be afraid to step out on your own and use your initiative when it is needed. As a trainee lawyer, you will be given responsibilities and tasks that you should be able to devise solutions for. However, never think that this means struggling on your own, sometimes the best initiative is seeing that you need help from your colleagues.
3. Communication Skills
Spending time working on your communication skills is essential for any new lawyer. You may think that you have this nailed down through your education but as a lawyer, you need to be able to communicate easily with your colleagues, your superiors, and the general public.
Additionally, you should be confident in delivering complex information in an easy-to-understand way both in your writing and in your verbal communication. The easier your case is to understand the more likely people will be to side with you.
4. Working under pressure
This will come as no surprise to you that working within the law is a stressful and difficult career to pursue. It can be hugely rewarding but as with most things in life, it comes with a cost. You will likely be expected to turn around large amounts of work under tight deadlines and expect to be thrown into the deep end more often than not. You will be expected to work effectively, regardless of the situation
In order to gain experience with this skill, you should set personal deadlines before the official ones to ensure you complete your work on time. Factor in time to relax as well as setting appropriate work amounts. Managing your time effectively will make sure that you remain calm at work and can be so much more productive.
5. Understanding People
lawyers, first and foremost, are providing a service to real people. These people often have very real problems that need solving. Bombarding them with legal jargon will not help them in the long run. However, this does not mean that you should not let them know the processes of their cases. You just need to make sure it is in an accessible format.
Utilizing your listening skills, you should be able to work out what they are looking for and because of this, you will know how best to service your client. Listening to and understanding the situation of your client will ensure repeat business and success in the future.
6. Attention to detail
Another obvious one, but this is a skill that is essential for any lawyer. This is a definite must-have that clients will look for. You will often be faced with large and usually unclear documents that feature significant amounts of superfluous information. You need to develop the ability to spot the key bits of information for your case. Missing something or misreading it can not only set you back in your deadline but derail an entire case
Make sure that your take your time when reading documents and that you are focussing on the task at hand. As soon as your mind starts to wander, take a break and then come back to it. You will be surprised at how effective this is at refocussing the mind.
7. Research Skills:
These will no doubt have been developed extensively from your time at school studying for your degree. However, much like any skill, a lack of practice can mean that you fall out of sorts with it. All this will do will make you seem unprofessional and unprepared. A rival litigator will jump right on this.
Reading articles, academic and non, and critically thinking about them will make sure that you are always at the top of your game. When you are conducting your research, use a wide range of sources, particularly those that challenge your case. This will ensure you are well prepared for any critiques of your argument and can rebut them effectively.
Being a new lawyer
Fortunately, this feeling of being an imposter will fade away in time. The more experience you gain, the better you will feel. The only way to get this experience, though, is to get out there and do it. Preparation is essential for any lawyer and making sure that you are using all of the tools in your arsenal can make sure that you are performing at your peak at all times.
Whilst most people will pretend that they are not experiencing this moment of insecurity, they likely are. Just make sure that you give your all every day and there will be no way that you don’t succeed as a successful lawyer, no matter where you are.
