The Skills a Lawyer Needs to have
What Qualities Make a Good Lawyer •Being a good lawyer is not just about arguing •It is more about getting all the hard facts & putting them across as evidence •A good arguer need not always be a good lawyer •A good lawyer should dispassionately convince the court his case with evidence and logic
Basic Civility • A litigation is basically an argument & need not be confrontational. • So, civility is a powerful tool in effective litigations • Using hostile tactics of volume, anger & intimidation may make short-term gains, but they tend to undermine the long-term ability to persuade • In the case of settlements, uncivil behavior tends to harm a lawyer’s ability to negotiate with the other party • Effective lawyers fight relentlessly for their clients - but with respect, intelligence & grace
Command of Language • “Command of language is the key to success” • Making your meaning clear is necessary, if you are to influence others • Ability to communicate clearly and effectively on paper, face-to-face or over the phone makes the role of a lawyer effective • The use of clear and succinct language will increase ones value as a good lawyer • Possessing excellent communication skills will help one communicate ideas & advice around him/her
Reading & Comprehension Skills • Lawyers requires reading comprehension skills to make out the information he/she encounters in legal documents, books or files • Regular reading – legal and other documents a must for lawyers
Writing or Drafting Skills • Lawyers require to have excellent writing skills as they have to write a variety of documents, including legal case studies
Speaking Skills •
A lawyer should have excellent speaking skills in order to be effective in the courtroom and make convincing arguments before judges
Analytical Skills • • • •
A lawyer needs to have analytical skills to understand abstract concepts and analyze complex situations and to make sense out of an issue at hand
Critical & Logical Thinking • A lawyer should have the ability to think a problem through to its conclusion based on available information to build a case and then present that logic in a practical and logical way to the judge • A lawyer must be able to follow a chain of logic to identify weak areas in their own arguments, and spot weaknesses in the reasoning by their opposition or their own clients • Lawyers must often exercise their judgment in deciding the best course of action to pursue
Research Skills • A legal professional should have excellent research skills to find pertinent details and • to prepare a legal strategy in the issue before him/her
Problem Solving Ability • A lawyer should have problem solving ability to deal with unique situations that may arise in course of a legal conflict resolution
Attention to details • A lawyer is expected to have a thorough, accurate and meticulous approach to their work • In legal documents , a single word or punctuation can make mar the outcome
Interpersonal Skills • A lawyer should have excellent interpersonal skills to build trusting relationships with everyone they work with • The most successful lawyers tend to be able to work by cultivating, building, developing and maintaining relationships with clients and colleagues
Perseverance or Tenacity • Anyone in legal profession must have perseverance or tenacity to pursue legal documents, researching on issues & pushing things till his case wins
Teamwor k • Ability to be a team player of a legal team is one of the skills a lawyer needs
Confidenc e • Confidence is a trait that every lawyer should have • A lawyer has to make thousands of decisions & assessments without certainty, knowledge or facts • No decision can be certain & no lawyer is always right • Confident trial lawyers often radiate positive energy & a sense of command that puts clients at ease & drives the course of trials and settlements • it is a key asset that effective lawyers must have
Ability to Judge the Right & Wrong • Ability to judge critically is the trait that a lawyer needs • The better your judgment, the better will be your success • The more success one will have, the more confidence his/her clients will have in her, and the more he/she will be sought out by others • Judgment is the product of common sense, reasonable intelligence, a little intuition or insight, and of experience.
Prepare Well when in Job • Preparation is the methodical, but laborious process of mastering what is required to present ones case • Preparation relating to ones work is unglamorous & a multi-step process. Thorough preparation has no substitute • The one who prepares well can control his/her case and capitalize on opportunities and become a better advocate easily • A lawyer who does his/her homework will definitely beat an unprepared opponent
Habit of Keeping Deadlines • This trait is important to those who practice in the realm of litigation - i.e. filing and processing law suits • The court rules require certain time limits to file certain papers and if one misses the deadlines, he/she possibly be forced to end the litigation - resulting in his/her client losing the case
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