Practice Management

I am really one of the lucky ones.  Big Law probably does not want me.  Not only am I too old and too fat, but I probably do not have the hard skills that pop off the page on a résumé.  I graduated from Bob's Really Big Law School (formally Fred's).  That for one is not a good start.  I have represented consumers -- simple people -- most of my life.  The truth of the matter is that the skills they need do not relate to the school from which I graduated, or the court at which I did not clerk, or the law review at which I did not edit.  They do not know this, and as a result they waste a lot of money wining and dining people who will ultimately bid them farewell because they fit the hard skill criteria but Big Law does not appreciate their soft skills.  But, please do not tell them.  It is our secret, and it is what keeps us all successful.  I would not want to share that success with Big Law.

Our skills, and the skills Big Law and others really need, are soft skills, but they do not know how to evaluate these or appreciate them.  These are the skills that you are generally unable to convey in your résumé.  These soft skills are what should make the biggest impression with any employer or Big Law, and they are what do make an impression with referral sources and clients.  These are what make you stand out from other lawyers who have only developed strong hard skills. Hard skills might apply to  the technical aspects of a job, and while absolutely important and necessary to get the job done well, they do not typically point to the deeper value you or to what I, or you, can add to any law firm, business, administrative agency, court, or law school.

Unlike hard skills, soft skills are thought of as difficult to measure and observe, and include your people skills, attitude, the way you take criticism, communicating, conflict resolution, delegating, planning, and the like.

We have interpersonal skills.  We have verbal skills.  We have the ability to work under pressure.  We have business acumen, and the cluster of personality traits, social graces, facility with language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark lawyers of quality to varying degrees.  We are responsible, we have a good self-esteem, we can be sociable and work well with others.  We are capable of self-management.  We have integrity and are honest.  In short, referral sources like us.

What Big Law does not understand when they dismiss others out of hand, and what you need to realize when deciding to benefit yourself and go out on your own, is that you cannot learn soft skills like you can be trained to develop hard skills, but you can always be aware of your strengths and challenge yourself to work on your weaknesses.  A knowledge of family law, or bankruptcy law, or arbitration, real estate or the like can be learned and developed with some effort.  What cannot be added easily is how to win friends and influence people.