Nov 7, 2016
Welcome back. Today we’re talking about the soft skills you need to develop to be a successful attorney.
It shouldn’t be shocking to learn that law school doesn’t totally prepare you to be a successful lawyer. Sure, you learn useful skills like legal writing and legal analysis, but building a practice (and a book of business) requires other skills. Some law schools are getting better at offering opportunities for students to gain these skills, but ultimately it's up to you to make sure you're fully ready to practice.
Tune in to find out which soft skills are important and how to develop them.
In this episode we discuss:
- The types of soft skills that tend to make you a successful attorney, regardless of your practice area
- Why lawyers need to understand how business works (even in public interest organizations)
- How to work on your business skills
- How to deal with clients
- Developing an elevator pitch
- Tips for public speaking
- How to communicate effectively with others in the legal workplace
- Using law school to build these skills
- Why technological literacy matters to attorneys
- The value of knowing another language
- Why you should work on your leadership skills
- Should you include these soft skills on your resume?
Resources
- Are you emotionally Intelligent? 5 Soft Skills to Show Off in Your Summer Law Job (http://lawschooltoolbox.com/are-you-emotionally-intelligent-5-soft-skills-to-show-off-in-your-summer-law-job/)
- You Are a Lawyer Already: Practice Management (http://lawschooltoolbox.com/lawyer-already-practice-management/)
- Building the 21st Century Lawyer (podcast) (http://lawschooltoolbox.com/podcast-episode-69/)
- How to Behave like a Professional in the Legal Workplace (podcast) (http://lawschooltoolbox.com/podcast-episode-25-behave-like-professional-legal-workplace/)
If you enjoy the podcast, we'd love a nice review and/or rating on iTunes. And feel free to reach out to us directly. You can always reach us via the contact form on the Law School Toolbox website (http://lawschooltoolbox.com/contact).
Thanks for listening!
Alison & Lee