5 Competitive Skills Law Firms Look For In Recruits

Almost every sector has been undergoing considerable changes in the last few months. There is unprecedented competition and urgency to get ahead, to sustain and secure jobs and careers. If you happen to be a legal professional, then there this might be the right time to take a step back and reassess your priorities.  Knowledge of the law is being increasingly considered as one of the competitive skills in the legal profession. You can try a free MPRE review course that reflects your professional responsibility. However, it takes much more than academic excellence to thrive in the real world.

To succeed in today’s employment landscape, you need to pair your knowledge with other strengths. Here we have created a list of the most sought-after competitive skills in the legal sector. These skills will make you a more attractive candidate.

Commercial Intelligence

Law offices are ultimately a business. They are looking for people who can not only win cases but thrive in the business as well. In other words, practice activities are shrinking.

Instead, clients seek data-driven, multi-disciplinary, risk analysis that requires both business and legal knowledge.

The rise of the productization of legal services is here. Stakeholders need candidates who can arrive at a quick commercial solution to legal issues that come with the least amount of risk.

Managing Priorities

Every lawyer has to be efficient in time management, and along with it comes prioritization. Competing projects that require your same focus could be challenging to manage if you are unable to assess your workload and address the ones that require the most attention. It is also applicable to how you prioritize your clients as well. The skill of prioritization goes hand-in-hand with your commercial acumen as well. It is the key to communication and working successfully in collaboration.

Market Knowledge

The legal sector has a plethora of specializations that require a unique set of skill sets. Regardless of which sector you are in, you must be well-informed of what is going on in other markets as well. You will need to be prepared to grab opportunities and uncover potential revenue streams. Essentially, lawyers also have to be skilled in business development, with the ability to convert their knowledge into actionable plans.

Technological Awareness

The legal industry is on the cusp of transformation. Technological advancement is one of the biggest challenges currently facing the sector. It will overturn the traditional business moderns and will be driven by technologies such as AI. On an individual basis, the younger generation would be responsible for embracing the technology and finding room for it in the sector. You need to learn about the opportunities that technology could bring in, what you can offer to the firm with your knowledge. Future-proofing your skillset is no longer an option, but a necessity, and is one of the competitive skills needed in the legal profession.

Soft Skills

It is understood that every lawyer or professional for that fact, should have a set of soft skills that will help nurture better relationships in a work environment. For lawyers, this might be even more valuable as your soft skills could determine all your interactions with your clients. Your emotional intelligence, people skills, cultural awareness, compassion, and empathy would all factor into how you evaluate and respond to different challenges.

In today’s business world, legal exposure amounts to only a part of the factors affecting the decision-making processes. Try to provide data-driven analysis and recommendations that align with the client’s objectives.