Finding a good lawyer can be tough. To succeed with your law firm over the long run, it’s important to find the best lawyer for your needs. With this in mind, it’s essential to understand that not all lawyers are created equal. In fact, some may provide mediocre services, while others provide exceptional services. The key is to learn how to distinguish between these two – and that’s no easy task.
According to Morten Cruys, CEO of a distinguished Norwegian law firm, Tingmann – Advokat i Stavanger, the way to find great legal professionals is to look at their skills, personal characteristics, and values. If a candidate has the right combination of these three, they are most likely the right person for the job.
Following is what we learned in one of Morten’s talks that he gave in Stavanger, Norway this September.
What Are The Essential Skills You Should Be Looking For In A Lawyer?
There are three essential skills that you should be looking for in a lawyer. These are:
- The ability to work effectively with colleagues
- Strong analytical skills
- Excellent writing abilities
The first skill is one of the most important requirements for any professional. A lawyer needs to be able to work effectively with colleagues at work and in court. This is because they need to know how to communicate different points of view and persuade others on different sides of an issue at hand.
The second skill is one that is often overlooked by many people who often look for lawyers based on their experience or location. However, you can’t go wrong when hiring people who have strong analytical skills since they will help you build cases, research evidence, and present your case effectively in court.
The third skill may seem a bit less important, but a large part of a legal professional’s job is to write. They spend a lot of billable time writing emails to clients, laying out their arguments and evidence, and writing legal briefs.
If you find someone who ticks these three boxes, you have a strong chance of hiring a team member that will help take your law firm to new heights.
What Are the Top Personal Characteristics of Great Lawyers?
Lawyers are an indispensable part of society. They act as a mediator between the parties involved in a legal dispute and make sure that they get justice. Great lawyers have a range of character traits which make them capable of handling complex cases and reaching a verdict quickly.
The personal characteristics you should look for in potential lawyer hirees include:
- Excellent problem-solving skills (a trait which is strongly related to strong analytical skills, as mentioned above)
- Great communication skills (which is related to writing abilities)
- Patience, as cases can often last for months and years before being resolved
- High work ethics; there’s often a lot of evidence to be mined, and rules to understand
- Team player; utilizing every available person and resource to succeed with a case
What Are the Top Values of Good Lawyers?
While a good lawyer must have the necessary qualities and skills to succeed, this success will be shallow if they don’t base it on a foundation of strong moral values; values like honesty, integrity and justice.
Honesty demonstrates that they will be honest with their clients about their case and the prospects of winning. Integrity shows their clients they can deliver on promises, such as confidentiality agreements, and be trustworthy in every other aspect of their professional life, such as fee payment or billing practices or malpractice insurance claims. Valuing justice supports the legal system, which is designed to ensure fair treatment for all parties involved in a legal dispute.
To summarize: If you can find a candidate who possesses the right combination of skills, personal characteristics, and values, there’s a good chance that you want them to come work for you in your law firm.