After being in the legal profession for over 15 years, Daniel Chammas knows how important it is for new lawyers to develop skills that will help make them great lawyers. For several years, lawyers focused on developing skills such as; analytical ability, logical reasoning, attention to detail, sound judgment, persuasiveness, and writing ability as the skills needed to become good lawyers. But in the last several years much has changed in terms of what skills a lawyer needs. While it is important to have all the above-listed skills, lawyers need to work on acquiring other skills as well.
Collaboration Skills Daniel Chammas is currently a partner at the national employment law boutique, Ford Harrison in downtown Los Angeles and knows the importance of collaborating with his legal team. It’s not just about working well in a team, but having the ability to operate in a multi-party work environment. Knowing how to collaborate with others in your team will help you identify and bring out the skills and talents in other team members. Collaborating with your team means that you trust the wisdom of your team. Emotional Intelligence Most probably at law school you heard that lawyers should detach themselves emotionally from their clients. That view has since changed, and lawyers are finding that clients are looking for perspective, empathy, and personal connection from their legal counsel. Staying distant from your clients will only serve to keep you far from clients. Financial Literacy Many lawyers agree that they were never good with numbers and hence don’t give too much attention to money matters. Every lawyer needs to understand how a business operates and learn how to balance the books, work with statistics, understand tax principles, etc. They also should be able to explain their fees to clients when necessary. Daniel Chammas is certain that financial literacy is one of the important skills every lawyer should have. Source: http://www.law21.ca/2008/07/core-competence-6-new-skills-now-required-of-lawyers/ |
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