Legal Jobs: The Skills Required to Land Your Dream Position

bcllegal
February 22, 2012

Choosing to work within the legal field can be one of the most demanding and strenuous career choices out there, however it can also be one of the most rewarding options for those people capable of achieving in such a high profile position.

The legal system has become one of the most integral parts of our lives, whether it is something major or a just some general guidance, crucial and well made decisions and more often than not made on the back of a professional legal opinion. The information age that we live in means that consumers’ are more conscious and aware of their rights and also of corporation’s duties. As a result of this well informed society legal professionals must have the up-to-date knowhow to provide successful outcomes in a constantly changing legal framework.

Many young students aspire to work within a legal position however not all of those who have hopes manage to achieve success. Below we are going to take a look at the qualities required to succeed in legal jobs alongside hard work and application;

– Communication: Communication skills are not all about talking, they can be broken down into several different factors including written, listening and oral. When working within a legal position it is common to have to interview and extract factual information from clients, suspects, witnesses and all sorts of other people involved in the case or area of legal work. It is not just about recording information though; it is analyzing and verifying the reliability of the source. Extremely strong communication skills are therefore a requisite of any legal professional and so developing and improving these is advantageous.

– Rationale & Empathy: Understanding a client’s emotional state of mind and any attachments they may have is a vital skill than can help a legal professional to put themselves into one of their clients shoes. Rational thinking is equally as important however as it is vital to not be sympathetic towards a client and let that cloud your professional judgement.

– Specialised knowledge: Specialisation is very common in law because of the level of detail and understanding that is often required in any one area. A top legal professional that deals with the most lucrative cases will have dedicated themselves to that specific area of law; examples of this would be business and criminal. Knowing of all previous cases and rulings that could be applied to your client’s case is a vital mechanism for demonstrating the interpretation of laws.

– Confidentiality: Working within a legal role demands the strictest level of confidentiality with your client. Highly sensitive information is often discussed between clients and lawyers during cases which they would not want to be disclosed to anyone at all. Violating this requirement will lose you any credibility within the industry and with your clients.

– Diplomacy: Saying the right things at the right time is crucial to bring successful within a legal position. Conducting yourself in a diplomatic way helps to make your personality a favourable one, even for those who disagree in some way with what you are saying. Negotiation is also another major task of many legal professionals and diplomacy is therefore vital to achieve favourable results in such situations.

– Be persuasive: If you are going to aim for a top legal job such as being a lawyer it is necessary to master the art of persuasion. It requires a vast amount of practice and skill to persuade a jury, judge or even a client of your legal opinion.

This post was written by Louise who works within the Legal Recruitment industry. She has a great understanding of what law firms look for when they are recruiting for their legal jobs and positions.