According to the Ohio Supreme Court’s web site, NLT is a program accredited by the New Lawyers Training Course by the Commission on Continuing Legal Education. Those classes are designed to be introductions to the practice of law, so they are pretty basic.

What Ohio and the State Bar of Washington, among other state Supreme Courts, have determined is that on Day One of practicing law, a new lawyer needs more than merely a certificate demonstrating bar passage to be successful.

The goal is to “help build their confidence and reach their potential as effective professionals,” says Chris Hargreaves, a practicing attorney in Brisbane, Australia, who also works for Tips for Lawyers, a company that provides practical skills training for young lawyers.

Day One of the Rest of Your Life

So you successfully navigated the circuitous routes of law school and even managed to pass the bar exam. Congratulations. Now what? Do you know the first thing about opening a client file? Fee agreements? Are you even skilled enough to decipher the issues in a case?

Well, you probably don't, according to Nicole Black, an attorney and Legal Technology Evangelist for MyCase, web-based practice management software for solo practitioners and small firm attorneys. She says two large gaps in legal education exist today. One is that the “practical aspects of running a law firm” are not generally taught in law school.

“There is little education in law school about running a practice, billing, invoicing, hiring employees, etc.,” she says, noting that upwards of 70% of all practicing attorneys are in small firms. That translates into a blind-leading-the-blind scenario.

The second shortcoming in today’s law school education is in educating law students about legal technology, Black says. It is imperative for today’s lawyer to be educated about “the different options available and how to choose among them (for legal research needs, for example) and how technology can support a law practice. Young lawyers are generally unequipped,” she says.

A goal that would best serve new lawyers is “getting to know people,” Hargreaves says. On those first days in your new position as a young associate, it’s imperative “to spend a couple of minutes introducing yourself, learning names and becoming ‘part of the team.’ The faster you can get to know who’s who, what the people and culture are like and who you can go to for help when required, the better set up you will be for the following days,” he says.

Imperative Skills for New (All) Lawyers

According to Hargreaves, an inexperienced attorney would benefit greatly from learning some new skills. Law vets could also perform a self-diagnosis to determine if their skills need some refreshing, since it’s easy to forget things along the way.

Hargreaves says skills intrinsic to a lawyer’s success include:

• Professional habits: These are the non-legal aspects of practicing law including productivity, focus and dealing with stress. Improvement on these life skills is a never-ending pursuit that can inject renewed vigor into a legal career that might be lagging or, for a newbie, some badly needed direction.
• Communication skills: Young lawyers tend to communicate as they did in law school. Law school focuses on academic writing and speaking, a far cry from the human interaction required by legal practice. Learning to translate the law and communicate authentically and effectively with real people is a great talent to start cultivating early on.
• Business acumen: Learning how a professional services firm succeeds in real life is a valuable skill for any young lawyer. Even if you’re not in charge of the firm doesn’t mean you should allow yourself to be ignorant about how it works. Knowing you can contribute directly to the bottom line will make you a valuable part of any firm.
• Networking and marketing: While these two activities might seem unnecessary for the young lawyer, they are, in fact, extremely important. Networking is key to finding mentors and others who can provide invaluable direction and insight about the nuances and challenges of practicing law. Marketing oneself to other lawyers lets them know what you can do for them and their clients and widens the net for mentoring and employment possibilities.
• Client service: Above all, lawyers need to remember they are in the service industry and it’s up to them to keep those skills sharp. That doesn’t mean an attorney should do everything their client wants them to do, since it’s the lawyer’s job to act in the client’s best interests, but all attorneys should be able to share bad news with their clients as well as respond to their needs as best as possible.

According to Black, young lawyers would benefit greatly from possessing certain skills and capabilities. They include:

• Strong writing talents
• Being analytical
• Excellent research knowledge and capabilities
• Confident public speaking skills, especially for advocates
• The ability to negotiate

“I tell young lawyers to make choices that don’t limit their future options,” she says. Furthermore, Black expresses concern that many young lawyers sabotage their professional careers early on by beating themselves up if they don’t achieve certain goals when they think they should have.

“People nowadays seem to redirect their careers every few years and that’s okay. The world is changing and the value of the degree is changing, so we have to be adaptable,” she says. “Don’t beat yourself up if your career path veers in ways different than you envisioned."

Young lawyers have many years of practicing law ahead of them, so it is imperative they “end up on a career path they can enjoy. If you do something you like, you will be happier,” she says. No lawyer can know everything about law. “Developing your professional skills and embarking on a career of humble, incremental improvement in all areas will keep you in the right mindset for the years to come. Tips for Lawyers has a number of free courses for any lawyers looking to grow in those core skills,” Hargreaves says.

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.