Going to law school is an enlightening experience for every aspiring lawyer. However, after you graduate, things will be quite different for you. In your professional life, you’ll learn many legal concepts and technicalities you didn’t learn in law school. For instance, during my first year as a lawyer, I was required to create an invoice for all the finances involved in a case. Unfortunately, I had no clue how to do it because I had never studied financial management. So, to make sure I didn’t look like an incompetent professional, I left without asking for any further instruction. Instead, I started digging Google for solutions, and it took me a whole week to submit the invoice to my senior. However, he wasn’t impressed by my late deliverable.
There are many other skills and tips law schools don’t (but should) teach their students. So, here’s what you need to learn in the meantime to avoid getting embarrassed in a professional working environment:
1. Listening
A person who’s not a good listener and can’t analyse information properly can’t be a lawyer. This is why law schools will teach you how to gather facts, relate them to the applicable laws, and use them to analyse the information. You’ll also learn how to conduct oral arguments while maintaining the decorum of the court.
However, they’re not teaching you to listen to your clients patiently. When clients come to you to discuss a legal matter, they’ll share the entire story and related facts. They are going through emotional trauma and stress. Hence, you should be compassionate to them. Before discussing the legal aspects of the issue they’re facing and asking detailed questions, be a good listener and let them vent as much as possible.
People normally hire lawyers when they’re in trouble. Hence, as an attorney, you should respect their feelings and understand where your clients come from.
2. Managing Unintended Consequences
When someone shares their trauma, you’ll also become a part of it. For instance, if your client went through a terrible divorce and their story made you feel sorry for them, you might start suffering from secondary traumatic stress. Many attorneys working on complex and sensitive cases suffer from anxiety, stress, and depression. Some become alcohol-dependent, and it’s not good for their personal and professional life.
These consequences of lawyering are quite well-documented and known among professionals. Still, law schools prefer not to cover such topics. Moreover, they worsen the problem by offering happy hours, where students distract their minds from academic pressure by using alcohol. They begin to consider it a tool to manage stress, depression, and anxiety. As a result, alcohol-dependent professionals are bound to fail because they’re often not in control.
3. Dealing with Difficult Clients
This is an issue many inexperienced lawyers face while dealing with their first few cases. Clients are often emotionally unstable and can be difficult to handle. You might propose them legal solutions that are emotionally unacceptable for them. Such situations can not only result in a possible conflict with your client, but they can also harm your mental health. You’ll be tense about the case and might be aggressive during negotiations. Clients often consider lawyers as their therapists. They would get incredibly upset and might even cry if the matter is sensitive and saddening on a personal level.
Law schools should teach students how to deal with clients when they are emotionally vulnerable. You should learn to empathise with clients while staying within your professional boundaries.
4. Managing Conflicts
You will face various types of conflicts while working on a case. You’ll often come across clients, associates, and other people who try to create unnecessary conflict. These individuals might get angry quickly, yell or scream at you, or have a rude attitude towards you. These conflicts can affect your personal life and mental health. For instance, the families of many criminal lawyers feel like they’re treated like witnesses or clients.
Hence, law schools should teach students how to de-escalate conflicts, protect their rights, create win-win situations, and understand the other party’s stance. Conflict management will not only help you succeed in your cases and client negotiations, but you’ll also be able to keep your personal life away from your professional matters.
5. Being Resilient
Your client might be hopeless about their situation and might have lost the motivation to bounce back and face legal matters with resilience. As an attorney, it’s your responsibility to provide your clients with a legal solution. We are not suggesting you give any false or unrealistic hopes. However, as a lawyer, you should be positive and confident about your abilities. When you’re resilient, your client will also be secure and motivated enough to go about the legal process and cooperate with you fully. Also, you’ll be able to find an effective solution for even the most complex issues.
6. Managing Finances
Apart from your fees, your client will have to manage several expenses during a case. If you don’t handle the legal payments properly and keep the rates as low as possible, your client might think you’re ripping them off. This is why lawyers who have gone through financial training are considered more credible. It can also help you negotiate your fees with difficult clients. Unfortunately, most law schools don’t teach students how to manage finances during a case. But, if you have time, you will find enough material online to educate yourself. So, make sure you set aside some hours to do that!
7. Choosing Smaller Firms over Larger Firms
Before graduating, every law school dreams of getting a job in the UK’s top law firms and learning from the best attorneys in the UK. However, the reality is often quite disappointing. In larger law firms, you’ll initially only complete paperwork and research instead of doing interesting work. This is because they would already have many capable lawyers. So, they don’t need to require the services of newbie lawyers for significant cases. Newbie attorneys often spend years in such agencies before getting allowed to small claim court trials on their own.
However, if you get into a small law firm, you will be able to learn many things quickly. Your experience will have more value. You’ll be allowed to conduct small to medium claims court trials routinely in your first 2 years of working as an attorney.
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8. Choosing the Right Firm
Many large and small law firms laid off their employees during the economic crunch. However, they keep those attorneys with them who have a good client base. As a newly graduated lawyer, you obviously won’t have a large customer base. Hence, it would be extremely unfortunate if, after studying so hard and getting into a large law firm, you’ll get laid off because you’re not a bankable asset. So, before you choose a law firm, enquire about its talent development reputation. You should look elsewhere if the firm hires reputable and successful attorneys and newbie lawyers for documentation and research purposes.
9. Asking the Senior Lawyer to Mentor You
When you join a law firm right after graduating, you’ll work under a more experienced attorney. They might be working on crucial cases and will require your assistance for various purposes. They’ll ask you to complete certain tasks and deliver them on time. However, is this good for your career development? No! You’re not the personal assistant of the lawyer you’re working under. At this point, proper training and mentorship are important for the better progression of your career. Also, it’s the responsibility of the lawyer you’re working under to train you.
Another thing you might not know about before enrolling in a law school is you’ll have to complete many law essays and dissertations. Moreover, they also have to submit all coursework before their respective deadlines. But, the academic schedule is extremely rigorous in British law schools. They also have to revise their lectures, complete assignments, prepare for exams, and handle different personal matters. Hence, it gets quite difficult to manage coursework while ensuring timeliness.
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