It’s a tough world for today’s junior lawyers — with the rise of technology, globalisation and increased competition, tomorrow’s legal landscape will look very different to the legal landscape today.
So, how to avoid being left behind? Here are three essential skills to cultivate during your time as a junior lawyer — master these and you’ll be ready to meet the future when it comes (rapidly) at you.
We’ve all been there: fresh out of university with a degree in your hand and feeling like you could do anything. You know the law, you’ve worked hard, and here you are — ready to take on the world. Right?
Cracking Junior Lawyers' Expectations
Well, sure — but your journey of education has actually just begun. Remaining teachable will be one of your greatest qualities in the world of work. This skill is a mix of humility, curiosity and intellectual ability. It’s about being open to not knowing everything, and being willing to go the extra mile to figure it out. It’s about not being the person who thinks they’re always right — or the person who thinks they’re always wrong. You want to be open-minded, but with a firm belief that you’re headed in the direction of growth. You want to be teachable.
• Ask (intelligent) questions. You know that silence after your supervisor finishes talking, and you’re trying to figure out the meaning of what they just said? Try this: instead of staring blankly into space, or nodding like you understood everything (we’ve all been there), ask a question that will help you reach a deeper understanding. It’s also ok to say that you haven’t completely grasped a point yet — just make sure you don’t ask your supervisor a question you could easily figure out on your own.
• Stay humble. Sounds like something you’d see on an Instagram caption, but it has a real impact in the professional world. Acknowledge that you don’t know everything, and then act accordingly.
Junior Lawyers 'often Negatively Impacted By Ineffective Senior Leadership'
• Do your preparation. Make sure you know the background of your topic, matter or deal before you get started on it. ‘Teachability’ is a great skill to have, but it only really works if you have the foundational knowledge to back up your new learning. Do the work first, and then you’ll see the real payoff.
Remember your first day of law school? New pencil case, new folders, brand new academic year — right? Maybe you even felt a similar way as you entered the workplace. The trouble is, the working world can quickly become difficult, fast-paced and tiring (and unlike university, there’s no month-long Christmas holiday to catch up on your Netflix). It’s hard to stay passionate when you’re sleep-deprived and stressed. But staying interested will make all the difference. Knowing exactly why you want to do the work (and be honest with yourself on this one), and what it is you’re interested in (practice area, subject specialism, nature of the work…) will give you the fuel you need to get you through those challenging periods in the job.
This one is all about perspective: staying in touch with what’s happening on a broader level. The legal world (as with many of the professions) is undergoing significant changes — both at an individual firm level, and at a higher systemic level. Think for a second about the impact of technology — chances are, your supervisor didn’t even have a Blackberry (heard of those?). Things are moving onwards at a rapid pace, and the question will be not only whether you can keep up, but whether you can stay one step ahead.
Key Questions And Answers For Junior Lawyers Looking To Build A Career In House
• Read a good-quality news source every day. Something relevant to your practice area is great, but more general news sources (the
, for example) will be helpful for developing a broader understanding of where the world is headed. Good work if you can keep an eye out for changes that might impact your team or clients. Gold star if you can spot them and then remember to mention them to your supervisor.
• Go to conferences, attend training events, listen to lectures that are relevant to your area of practice (or to the law in general). Download podcasts. Read articles. Write articles, if you have something to say. Stay checked into the things that are happening in the space around you.
K Junior Lawyer Salaries Are 'out Of Control', Top General Counsel Warns
• Develop ‘areas of interest’. Yes, it’s annoying but true — you can’t do everything. As a junior lawyer, demands on your time will be coming at you from all directions. Best tactic is to develop a general sense of understanding (see bullet points above), and then delve deeper in certain areas of interest. You don’t have to stick with these areas for life, but choose a couple of things that sound interesting, and commit some time to learning about them. If your interest persists, capitalise on it — offer to host training for your office, or write a blog for the firm website, or give your team a briefing. You’ll be surprised at how much your effort will pay off: it might take a bit of initial groundwork from your end, but the outcome will be worth it.
Eloise is a qualified solicitor at US law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Eloise studied law at Cambridge University, graduating with a first class degree.Recently, Georgie Miller hosted our ‘the growing market for junior in-house lawyers webinar’ and they were joined by three fantastic panellists, one of which was Kunaal Wharfe | Deputy General Counsel | Dentu International. After the event, I decided to delve more into the subject with Kunaal to further discuss how best to build and develop a career as an in-house lawyer
Does it matter what area of law you qualified into/what seats you did when making the move in-house? Absolutely not! A ‘can do’ attitude and a thirst for learning and getting stuck into anything that comes your way is far more important. Some roles may look for certain experience but there are plenty of roles and teams who will be happy to take on someone who may not have had direct experience of what that team undertakes for a candidate who can demonstrate adaptability in moving to a different area of law. What is the difference between a Legal Counsel and Senior Legal Counsel role? What tips can you provide to prepare a candidate for a Senior Legal Counsel promotion? One of the key differentiators between a legal counsel and senior legal counsel role is the step up in taking the initiative and ownership for improving an in-house legal team. Identifying issues, designing and implementing solutions. If you are preparing for an interview for a senior legal counsel role, think about how you have demonstrated improving how a legal team works or how have you used initiative beyond the day to day of your role. It will be a given that you can negotiate and draft, but what are you doing beyond that? Supervision and mentoring of junior lawyers is another way to demonstrate operating at a more senior level. What have you enjoyed the most about moving in-house? Being part of a business. Understanding how a business works and being able to input into direction and strategy. Being closer to the products and services and being there from day 1 on a project or a matter and understanding the full context and background. Do you think not getting any private practice experience could be detrimental to a legal career? I think it can be beneficial but its not detrimental. There are an increasing number of people who have trained and qualified in-house and they have a very different experience and mindset to approaching situations. I think it’s good to have a mix of people of different backgrounds in an in-house team. It certainly wouldn’t put me off interviewing or hiring a candidate if they only had in-house experience and in some cases it can be an advantage.
Exploitation Of Proletarians: Class Struggle Of Junior Lawyers In Pakistan
Corporate/Commercial Role with FTSE 250, SSP Group SSP are the food travel experts. So, what does that mea […] Posted 发布于 4周 前Most junior associates are hired based on their “paper” credentials: diplomas, transcripts, cover letters, and résumés. It is well-known that in the legal industry prestige matters — perhaps never more so than at the point when a law student transitions into an actual law practitioner. So the quality of one’s degrees, both in terms of type (an economics or finance background will typically be more attractive for law firms than fine arts) and source (ATL has reams of material on the importance of both undergraduate and law school prestige on employability), are of the utmost importance. As is the quality of one’s transcript. No surprises there.
Cover letters and résumés are also important, but mostly because of their power to negate a favorable impression generated by one’s educational background. It may seem trite, but rambling cover letters can cause an otherwise viable job candidate serious damage. It is one thing to use a cover letter to highlight serious accomplishments or specific expertise gained as part of an established legal
• Read a good-quality news source every day. Something relevant to your practice area is great, but more general news sources (the
, for example) will be helpful for developing a broader understanding of where the world is headed. Good work if you can keep an eye out for changes that might impact your team or clients. Gold star if you can spot them and then remember to mention them to your supervisor.
• Go to conferences, attend training events, listen to lectures that are relevant to your area of practice (or to the law in general). Download podcasts. Read articles. Write articles, if you have something to say. Stay checked into the things that are happening in the space around you.
K Junior Lawyer Salaries Are 'out Of Control', Top General Counsel Warns
• Develop ‘areas of interest’. Yes, it’s annoying but true — you can’t do everything. As a junior lawyer, demands on your time will be coming at you from all directions. Best tactic is to develop a general sense of understanding (see bullet points above), and then delve deeper in certain areas of interest. You don’t have to stick with these areas for life, but choose a couple of things that sound interesting, and commit some time to learning about them. If your interest persists, capitalise on it — offer to host training for your office, or write a blog for the firm website, or give your team a briefing. You’ll be surprised at how much your effort will pay off: it might take a bit of initial groundwork from your end, but the outcome will be worth it.
Eloise is a qualified solicitor at US law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Eloise studied law at Cambridge University, graduating with a first class degree.Recently, Georgie Miller hosted our ‘the growing market for junior in-house lawyers webinar’ and they were joined by three fantastic panellists, one of which was Kunaal Wharfe | Deputy General Counsel | Dentu International. After the event, I decided to delve more into the subject with Kunaal to further discuss how best to build and develop a career as an in-house lawyer
Does it matter what area of law you qualified into/what seats you did when making the move in-house? Absolutely not! A ‘can do’ attitude and a thirst for learning and getting stuck into anything that comes your way is far more important. Some roles may look for certain experience but there are plenty of roles and teams who will be happy to take on someone who may not have had direct experience of what that team undertakes for a candidate who can demonstrate adaptability in moving to a different area of law. What is the difference between a Legal Counsel and Senior Legal Counsel role? What tips can you provide to prepare a candidate for a Senior Legal Counsel promotion? One of the key differentiators between a legal counsel and senior legal counsel role is the step up in taking the initiative and ownership for improving an in-house legal team. Identifying issues, designing and implementing solutions. If you are preparing for an interview for a senior legal counsel role, think about how you have demonstrated improving how a legal team works or how have you used initiative beyond the day to day of your role. It will be a given that you can negotiate and draft, but what are you doing beyond that? Supervision and mentoring of junior lawyers is another way to demonstrate operating at a more senior level. What have you enjoyed the most about moving in-house? Being part of a business. Understanding how a business works and being able to input into direction and strategy. Being closer to the products and services and being there from day 1 on a project or a matter and understanding the full context and background. Do you think not getting any private practice experience could be detrimental to a legal career? I think it can be beneficial but its not detrimental. There are an increasing number of people who have trained and qualified in-house and they have a very different experience and mindset to approaching situations. I think it’s good to have a mix of people of different backgrounds in an in-house team. It certainly wouldn’t put me off interviewing or hiring a candidate if they only had in-house experience and in some cases it can be an advantage.
Exploitation Of Proletarians: Class Struggle Of Junior Lawyers In Pakistan
Corporate/Commercial Role with FTSE 250, SSP Group SSP are the food travel experts. So, what does that mea […] Posted 发布于 4周 前Most junior associates are hired based on their “paper” credentials: diplomas, transcripts, cover letters, and résumés. It is well-known that in the legal industry prestige matters — perhaps never more so than at the point when a law student transitions into an actual law practitioner. So the quality of one’s degrees, both in terms of type (an economics or finance background will typically be more attractive for law firms than fine arts) and source (ATL has reams of material on the importance of both undergraduate and law school prestige on employability), are of the utmost importance. As is the quality of one’s transcript. No surprises there.
Cover letters and résumés are also important, but mostly because of their power to negate a favorable impression generated by one’s educational background. It may seem trite, but rambling cover letters can cause an otherwise viable job candidate serious damage. It is one thing to use a cover letter to highlight serious accomplishments or specific expertise gained as part of an established legal
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