Attention to detail
It is a well-known fact that accuracy is an essential skill that you need in order to make a successful career in law. A single comma can change the entire meaning of a statute, while making any type of grammatical error can give clients and bosses a bad impression, choosing you your job. To improve your accuracy, make a habit of going through your work with a fine- tooth comb.
Communication
Communication skills are crucial for a lawyer. You need to be a confident speaker when arguing your case in the court, or while negotiating settlements or explaining complex information to clients. You must also have good writing abilities as this career largely revolves around making and filing legal documents and writing letters. Apart from oral and written communication, you also need to have excellent listening ability as you need to build relationship and trust with clients.
Analysis and Research
This profession involves lot of reading. Every week you’ll have to go through 1000 of pages of cases, research papers, journals and what not. You’ll have to distil all these information that you’ve gone through into something manageable. You need to be able to identify what is relevant out of the information that you’ve gathered and explain all these clearly and concisely to your client.
Research
Research is another skill which you must master in for a successful legal career. In your time as a lawyer, you’ll do research in while advising you client, preparing a legal draft and while doing background work on a case. So, while you are in university, use your time wisely and learn how to operate the internet and learn using websites like Manupatra and SCC.
Organization
Preparing legal draft, meeting a client, attending the court hearing, managing case files, researching, and networking with legal profession and maintaining a healthy work-life balance? It’ll be an understatement to say that the life of a lawyer is one
big juggling act. Organizing your daily routine is essential so you do not fall behind on any task. You also must have the ability to prioritize and remain focused on the current task so that you complete is flawlessly, and in time.
Creative Thinking
If you think that all you’ll need is the books’ knowledge in legal profession, then you are wrong. Whether you choose to be a lawyer or a lecturer or a judge, you’ll always come across situations where you’ll have to think outside the box. And to outsmart the opponent council, you’ll have to come up with possibilities of what they had not thought about. For this, you’ll need to employ your creative- thinking skills on a regular basis. In universities today, you are given plenty of opportunities where you can know these creative thinking skills, doing moot courts or being a student representative are some of the activities that requires you to think outside the box.
