How to Become a Smart Lawyer
Good lawyers are common, but great lawyers are hard to find. What separates the men from the boys in the legal profession has a lot to do with a complex set of skills. But behind these skills lies the same attitude that separates mediocrity and greatness in any profession. Great lawyers love what they do, and this passion is what drives them to master every aspect of their profession. There are no classes you can take. What counts is changing the way you think.
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Instructions
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Know the law thoroughly. The substantive law of the case is obviously important--case law as it applies to slip and fall accidents, for example. You cannot memorize an entire law library, so you're going to have to study for every case. Evidence law is also critical, so that you can get your client's evidence in and keep your opponent's evidence out. Most important, however, is a split-second command of civil procedure--if you're one second too late to raise an objection, you have already missed the chance.
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Know the facts of your case inside and out, detail by torturous detail. This is not so much a matter of reading the case file a hundred times as it is a matter of developing the ability to concentrate like a yoga master. Every case is a complex interaction between the law and its application to the specific facts of your case, and the law applies differently to every case.
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Develop objectivity. This is the most difficult of all skills to achieve. Take the time to pretend you are your opponent's lawyer and plan a strategy to defeat your own case. Then pretend you are the judge and make a judgment. You don't need to sit at your desk with a laptop all day--great lawyers ponder their cases even while brushing their teeth. Objectivity is something you can practice in every area of your life, from discussions with your spouse to consultations with your garage mechanic.
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Believe in your client and in your side of the case. Either refuse cases you don't believe in, or learn to brainwash yourself. The old saying, "If you don't believe, you don't belong," is nowhere more true than in the courtroom. The lawyers who make the most money are the ones who aren't practicing law primarily for money.
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Know your own weaknesses. This will take both objectivity and humility. It is better to work around your weaknesses than to vainly attempt to be someone you're not. If you find the courage to admit to yourself that you will never develop the verbal fluency to give great summations, you can spend your time learning to cross-examine so skillfully that the witness will grudgingly advocate your cause more eloquently than you can. If you are not a great organizer, hire talented staff to organize for you.
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Pay attention to detail, or hire someone who can do it for you. Great lawyers can imagine a trial so clearly that they will avoid small mistakes that cost other lawyers. Trials are part show business, and a good lawyer pays as much attention to choreography as a good director does.
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Develop sound professional judgment. Apart from experience, the most important factor in good judgment is the ability to control your emotions. Tame your emotions and you will gain a great advantage while you coldly plot how to push the emotional buttons of opposing counsel to rattle them into making stupid mistakes.The ability to see beyond your own ego and emotions is extremely rare, and it is this quality more than any other that makes a great lawyer.
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Learn how to handle clients. The client is the boss, but clients are typically more emotionally involved than their lawyers are, and they often insist upon bad decisions that will tie the hands of their lawyers. You will need to learn how to subtly guide your client into making the decisions you want them to make, and let them think it was all their idea. One-on-one persuasiveness is very different from being eloquent before a jury. Great lawyers are master psychologists.
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Learn to think on your feet. You should be constantly anticipating possible scenarios and rehearsing your options in reactions to them, just like a good driver instinctively anticipates what his options would be if, say, another drive ran a red light. If you do this constantly, it will become second nature.
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Keep your finger on the pulse of the people. Don't just associate with other lawyers. You will be dealing with juries made up of ordinary people, so it make a point to befriend people from all walks of life--the janitor, the mailman, the hairdresser, the taxi driver. Ask their opinions, listen to their viewpoints and understand how they think.
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Learn how to teach people accurately, clearly and quickly--courts and juries need to be educated on the details of various cases (imagine a software piracy case, for example). If you have no experience teaching, then take a part-time job teaching ESL to immigrants--anything it takes to help you develop the ability to condense and simplify information and present it to people of average intelligence in easily digestible form.
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Assemble a great staff. Learn to recognize talent, and take the time to think about how to who to trust, how much to trust them, and what to trust them for. You only have 24 hours a day, and a lot of what will make you smart is the legwork that other people have done under your supervision.
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