Many law students dream of entering into a prime business firm and others
dream of becoming a good litigator. Several freshers get jobs in business
corporations however they're not capable of continuing it as they do not have
the skills that the organizations desire from them. It's now not that companies
aren't hiring or that companies aren't looking for young, brilliant lawyers,
nevertheless, tons of young lawyers conflict for many years, trying to set off
opportunities that shape their expertise.
If you are part of a business firm then initial few years you would struggle and
you need to cover your weak components and study from the seniors. Not everybody
survives, many leave after getting harassed, and many get fired. you don't need
to suffer and struggle in the initial years to survive. If you get effective
training at an early age then heaps of hassle are often avoided.
The skills which will create a huge difference to wherever you begin your career
as a professional or in a legal firm:
- Negotiation
- Negotiating is one of those skills which lawyers should master if they want
to be successful in the profession. The most effective professionals are
usually known for their effective court craft drafting skills, which are the
fundamental requirements.
- For a decent negotiation, you need to have a good command of English and your
communication skills must be sharp and if you are weak then you need to brush
them up.
- You need to attend law events and participate in moot courts to boost your
confidence.
- You need to know about the topic of negotiation very well, legally speaking.
Don't always rely on the preparation made beforehand but you need to be clever
and know to how change words during a discussion and that will come with
experience and practice.
- Listening and understanding what your opposite negotiation partner wants
to tell you is one of the most important factors. Make sure to take notes
throughout the process of negotiation and make sure agreements, if any, are
documented to avoid confusion.
- Lastly, practice and only practice is key to being successful in the
negotiation skill. The more you negotiate, the more you will gather
knowledge and become an experienced negotiator.
- Arrive at a compromise in subsiding a dispute in a very approach that is most
useful to the client, Achieve the most effective potential outcome for the
client while not having to resort to the proceeding.
- Obtain enough information from the opposite party to succeed in a possible
resolution.
- If you are unable of doing this in negotiations and you do not have good
negotiating skills, then it could be a drawback.
- Drafting
Drafting is one of the foremost intellectually demanding skills of all lawyering
skills. It needs the data of the law, the flexibility to handle abstract ideas
and should have structure skills.
Legal drafting skills require a robust command of the language. A professional
should connect his words like pearls in a string.
As a beginner, you need to learn the talent of drafting at an early age. Once
you step into the real world of law after graduation, it will be very useful for
growth in your career. The talent to draft well is the talent to suppose and
communicate well.
A professional with legal drafting skills is in a position to spot his client.
Your drafting must cover all the aspects that your client wants you to keep. The
content of a legal instrument should be understood by the party who is reading
it. Legal drafting skills collectively manifest the art of drafting authentic
documents. Your documents need to be drafted by yourself and not by repeating
from some template and every statement created should be supported by case law,
precedent or statute.
So these are the necessary skills for a young professional. Drafting should be
crisp and clear and straightforward to scan and interpret. Drafting should be in
simple language, with simple sentences and layman's terms should be used.
Some tips for drafting:
- Plan your documents before you begin
- Define the aim of the documents in a legal issue
- Organize your documents and resources to confirm that they are existing for all
technical details.
- Write with clear and summary language and keep your phrase structure short and
summary in legal writing. Avoid using long, complicated words and use simple
words.
- Write sentences with efficiency, and keep things to the point and which can be
understood by a layman.
- Ensure the correct use of synchronic linguistics.
- The correct use of synchronic linguistics and orthography is imperative for all
skilled documentation. However synchronic linguistics is particularly needed for
ambiguity in legal writing.
- Be as correct as attainable and maintain the accuracy of the facts. Accuracy may
be an important part of the task, confirming that each one of the submitted and
attached documents is valid. Any invalid document will create trouble.
- Make data accessible and relevant to the research. Legal documents tend to be
lengthy and time-intensive to compile and go through. Keeping it straightforward
to the reader by making important parts of the document for simple reference is
a good idea.
- Always use a voice full of life because using the active voice in your writing
is important for eliminating confusion. Mainly it specifies who should perform
what in an exceeding sentence.
- Legal Research
If you work in a law firm, then you must know the legal research because you
will need it during your work for understanding the case and for making a
brief of it.
One might think, legal research is such an indispensable skill but we did
not give attention to this which develops a lack of skill in law students.
Given below are some tips to develop legal research skills:
- Develop the habit of reading legal blogs, case laws to stay updated
- Knowledge is the power of every legal professional and so they need to be
constantly updated with recent cases and decisions.
- Effective reading is an essential part of the research for understanding the
case. The vital part is to be selective while reading. The task of research is
multi-layered which begins from the base level looking for information,
selecting, noting, and interpreting relevant information, and applying it for
different purposes.
Be creative:
Successful lawyers know when they need to be creative now and then. Creativity
helps with problem-solving, thinking on the spot, and finding ways to move
through court cases. Let yourself be creative as you grow.
Conclusion
It is never late to start. If young lawyers start practising these skills and
develop themselves from now on, and offer service better than what the company
wants, then they can get jobs easily in big law firms and establish them well.
All emerging lawyers must keep in mind all the skills mentioned above, such as
communication skills, a good hold on English, negotiation skill, a good legal
researcher, and lastly the most important one, drafting skill. As Rome was not
built in one day, likewise these skills will only become perfect with practice.
Law is such a field where the skills of lawyers play a vital role. The lawyer
may be from a top law university but if he doesn't have the skills, he will not
be able to succeed in a law career. On the other hand, a non-NLU normal law
college student can achieve success in law with the help of such skills. So it
depends on you, how you will make yourself better than others.
Written By: Ashley John - BBALLB 1st year, Noida International University
Please Drop Your Comments