The legal profession is a highly skilled profession. Advocates, lawyers, solicitors, and other legal eagles spend years acquiring the knowledge needed to practice law and to help their clients. Like any other professional, a legal professional must also develop advanced domain-specific skills to succeed at their chosen role. They must understand the law and its implications and be proficient in legal research, legal analysis, and legal interpretation. A good lawyer is also a good counsellor for his or her clients and is competent at legal documentation drafting, negotiation, and mediation. And of course, every lawyer worth their weight must be good at presenting well-rounded, evidence-based oral arguments.
That said, the modern lawyer needs to master more than just legal acumen or skills. They must also develop other skills and capabilities that effectively complement their expertise in their primary domain.
But why should legal professionals develop a wide range of skills and experiences?
And what are some of the most important skills that differentiate a good lawyer from a great one?
The Gen Z Lawyer: Going Beyond Legal Skills
The legal profession may be an old one but the profession as it stands to day is very different from the profession of such a few decades ago. Today, the sector is witnessing a host of disruptive technologies that have changed the way lawyers, paralegals, and other legal professionals work. Moreover, many law companies label themselves as “customer-centric”, requiring lawyers who can create value for their clients in more than just legal ways. Another emerging trend is the increasing focus on legal operations both in company legal departments and external law firms.
For all these reasons, the new generation of lawyers need to do more than develop their legal expertise or provide legal advice to clients. They must also understand and support work related to legal operations. In addition, they must be able to identify new business opportunities for clients and help with the execution of those opportunities. They must also contextualise the advice they provide and find new ways for the legal firm (or department) to create new sources of value for the client.
Lawyers who can do all of the above are the ones who stand apart from the crowd. They know that their role is not only about advising on the law but also about the business they are advising. It is these lawyers who develop a deep understanding of their clients and tailor their expertise to clients’ businesses. And to do this, they make an effort to develop a wide range of skills and competencies. What are these skills and competencies? Let’s take a look.
Becoming a Gen Z Lawyer Requires a Mindset Change
As we have seen, the Gen Z lawyer is a breed apart from his or her predecessors. Unlike traditional lawyers, the Gen Z lawyer is more proactive about understanding their clients’ legal and business needs. They help clients identify new opportunities and convert them through legal initiatives. They do this because they have developed a proactive mindset that’s very different from the reactive mindset of old-fashioned lawyers. This mindset means that they:
- Go above and beyond to provide business answers, and not just legal answers
- Do their homework to educate clients and show them a better way to overcome their legal/business challenges
- Help clients to think about value creation and suggest ways to do the same
- Apply legal know-how so clients can better navigate various complexities, restrictions, and opportunities in their business area
All in all, the Gen Z lawyer has a unique mindset and attitude that differentiates them from the reactive, problem-solving, legally-focused mindset of their predecessors. Equally importantly, they understand that advising clients from a business perspective should take precedence over simply legal analysis and advisory. This understanding allows them – and their legal firms or departments – to serve clients better, develop more trusted relationships with them, and generate mutually-beneficially outcomes.
Important Skills for the Becoming a Gen Z Lawyer
The role of a lawyer has a legal expert will never change. Every legal professional is expected to handle legal issues for their clients, provide legal advice where there is a problem, and suggest ways to overcome challenges using the power of the law. But as we have already seen, the Gen Z lawyer is not just about the law, but also about the customer and their business. That’s why they must bring all these competencies to the table – in addition to legal expertise:
- Business fluency and understanding, including an understanding of business strategy, finance, cost management, and HR
- Understanding of the customer’s business ecosystem: industry, market, country of operations, product/service lines, etc.
- Understanding of the business’ political, social, and economic landscape
- Ability to create value through legal initiatives
Additionally, the Gen Z lawyer must develop all these skills to succeed at their profession and generate benefits for their firm and clients:
- Adaptability: The ability to adapt to new legal and business environments
- Resilience: The ability to recover from setbacks, whether to themselves or to their firms
- Self-starter: The willingness to self-analyse skills gaps and take proactive action to improve
- Practical learner: The ability to learn new skills and apply them into practice
- Empathy and relationship-building: The willingness and ability to understand people and make an effort to connect with them
- Communication: An essential soft skill to share ideas, influence others, and collaborate when needed
- Problem-solving: The skill to analyse a client’s problem and find the best legal solution
- Analysis and judgement: The ability to take information, analyse it, determine its importance, and form sound judgments that favour the client
Another important skill that Gen Z lawyers bring to the table is legaltech proficiency. We mentioned “disruptive technologies” in the beginning of this article. These technologies are collectively known as legaltech. Numerous software-based tools are now available that simplify legal processes and workflows. Many tools also help lawyers to save time and effort, increase efficiency and productivity, and do more with less.
The most popular legaltech solutions are:
- eSignature software
- Contract management tools
- Video conferencing tools
- Data management and encryption tools
- Metadata removal tools
- eDiscovery software
- Legal accounting software
- Legal case management software
- Chatbots
Conclusion
The legal profession is constantly evolving. Lawyers who can keep up with these changes are the ones who find success. And to do this, they make an effort to develop skills that go beyond legal skills. They also develop business acumen to better support their clients as well as expertise is correctly using legaltech tools and software.
