Have you ever wondered about the characteristics one needs to possess to be called a good lawyer? If yes, then check out the following list to see if you fit the bill:
1.Good communication skills
“The lawyer’s truth is not Truth, but consistency or a consistent expediency.” -Henry David Thoreau
An excellent oratory skill is one of the essential requirements for an advocate because to argue convincingly in the courtroom before the judges, good command over the language and exceptional speaking skills are required.
2. Good Writing Skills
Apart from good communication skills, lawyers must also be able to write persuasively and concisely, as they must produce a variety of legal documents.
3. Good Listening Skills
However, the job of a lawyer is not just about projection and for being able to analyze what the clients tell them, a lawyer must be equipped with good listening skills as well.
4. Diligence
“The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every calling, is diligence.” –Abraham Lincoln
Diligence and intelligence are innate characteristics of the law profession. The lawyers have to serve their clients with competence and diligence while going forward with their legal needs.
5. Sound Judgment
“The main business of a lawyer is to take the romance, the mystery, the irony, the ambiguity out of everything he touches.” –Antonin Scalia
Drawing reasonable and logical conclusions from a limited set of information is quite essential for a lawyer. A lot of judgment calls have to be made by a lawyer from time to time, so it becomes crucial that he/she should be able to contemplate such conclusions critically. A lawyer should be able to identify the potential areas of weakness in his/her arguments to strengthen the case presented before the court. Further, a lawyer must be able to spot flaws in the arguments of the opposition as well.
6. Analytical skills
“The power of the lawyer is in the uncertainty of the law.” – Jeremy Bentham
Absorbing large quantities of information and then distilling it into something manageable and logical formulates a significant part of practicing law. Therefore, a great set of analytical skills is something which is vital for individuals practicing law.
7. Research skills
“A lawyer without books would be like a workman without tools.” –Thomas Jefferson
Might be an unpopular opinion in the Indian law field, but research is as vital of a part for a lawyer as any other set of skills. A lawyer must be equipped with the ability to research quickly and effectively to understand the need of the clients and to prepare prospective legal strategies. For preparing effective legal strategies, a lawyer is required to absorb and subsequently comprehend large amounts of information which strengthen the case.
8. People skills
“Lawyers are operators of toll bridges which anyone in search of justice must pass.” –Jane Bryant Quinn
As we know that law is not an abstract practice and the excellent academic records of a lawyer are rendered irrelevant because at the end of the day, lawyers’ work for people. Therefore, it is important that they are persuasive enough to gauge the honesty of witnesses.
9. Perseverance
Lawyers and perseverance are synonyms of one another. Listening to a client and then gauging his legal requirements followed by a comprehensive study of the required laws to make the case is not an easy job. Therefore, perseverance becomes a major part of the law profession.
10. Creativity
The very top lawyers do not only possess logical and analytical skills, but they also display a great deal of creativity in their problem-solving. The best solution is not always the most obvious and to outmaneuver your challenger it is often necessary to think outside the box.
11. Time management
“Time is a unique resource. It cannot be accumulated like money or stockpiled like raw materials. We are forced to spend it, whether we choose to or not, and at a fixed rate of sixty seconds every minute. It cannot be turned on and off like a machine or replaced like a man. It is irretrievable.”– R. Alec Mackenzie
Good time management comes naturally to a successful lawyer. in order to extract productivity, it is essential for lawyers to manage their time.
