What do you need to do to become a successful lawyer? Do you need to work twice as hard, take on more clients, broaden your field of expertise, work longer hours, or be more knowledgeable? It helps to be knowledgeable and inquisitive, have an analytical mind and a writing gene, and see the bigger picture along with the little details. However, none of that will set you apart from your competitors.
We know some things that will! If you are a new lawyer on the scene or just looking for ways to grow in the legal profession, follow these tips on becoming a successful lawyer.
Build a strong bond with your clients
The cost of taking on a new client is higher than the cost of continuing to work with an existing client. Though taking on more clients is a necessary step at the beginning of everyone’s career and you can’t escape a little client turnover, try to focus on keeping your clients. Working exclusively with one-off clients won’t give you a good reputation in the field. More often than not, these clients won’t recommend you to their friends.
Working with a client long-term gives you a greater insight into their business/life. That will help you with any future cases. Once you get to know the client, you can be a better attorney to them than the best attorney in your city. That being said, there is a big difference between working with short-term and long-term clients.
- With long-term clients, you need to go the extra mile and know everything about them, their industry, business, competitors, and so on. If you see the potential for long-term work, take some of your own time to do your research and impress the client with your knowledge of their case.
- Don’t just focus on the facts, try to understand where the client is coming from.
- One thing that firms find quite helpful when working with loyal clients is CRM and legal document software. Those can help you stay organized.
Do what you love
Provided you focused on a specific field of law in college, you probably found your perfect niche. For some people it’s criminal law, for others it’s business law and everything in between. As you start or continue to work, you will confirm that belief or find something that you enjoy even more. Focus on what you enjoy.
You won’t be able to spend years doing something that you hate and be good at it. If you want to stick around and get the most out of your job, you need to do what you love. You’ll be a better attorney to your clients if you genuinely care about their cases. You will have an easier time learning about something you love.
You can’t save everyone and you don’t have to try! If everyone can do what they’re good at, everybody benefits. Find your niche and stick to it.
Schedule
Your time is extremely valuable; that’s the only resource you can never get back. As you grow in your profession, you can put a higher price tag on your time, thus charging your clients more. Being greedy with time is not reserved only for experienced lawyers. As a newbie, you need to start valuing your time early on. There are never enough hours in the day. Assuming you want to spend most of them doing what you enjoy, you need to become a time management pro.
Establish early on that your time is valuable and you can’t spend it on silly tasks like long phone conversations and emailing back and forth. It’s up to you to create a schedule and follow it.
- Make sure that everything you do at work is directly related to your goals. If you can’t bill a client for a task, that’s fine, as long as it’s getting you closer to your goal.
- Delegate tasks to others. If you can find someone who will do it just as well for a fraction of your pay, do it!
- Schedule everything, including phone calls and time for answering emails. Don’t take unscheduled calls.
Implement technology
Nothing is ever standing still and the legal field is no exception. It`s your duty to continue to learn about innovations in your field and how you can improve the experience you sell to clients. That includes new technology and legal document software, as well as new best practices in customer service.
Technology can help you work faster and more efficiently. It will take over tasks you can’t delegate and don’t have the time to do yourself, such as contract proofreading. You can dedicate the time you save to working directly with clients. Time is money; a solution that can save you time can also drive your profits.
Are you familiar with the phrase “work smarter, not harder”? Being successful is not as simple as putting in the hours and taking on more clients. Find ways to maximize your potential by doing what you love.
