what makes good characteristic for a lawyer

by Alexandrea Koch 9 min read

Personality traits that make a good lawyer

  1. Great people skills. An ability to relate to and engage with a wide range of people is maybe one of the most...
  2. Determination and perseverance. Studying for a career in the law is a long, challenging journey, from exams and...
  3. A creative mind. The most successful lawyers are creative. Now, we’re not talking about...

Lawyers must be orally articulate, have good written communication skills and also be good listeners. In order to argue convincingly in the courtroom before juries and judges, good public speaking skills are essential.Mar 16, 2022

Full Answer

What are the qualities of a good lawyer?

  • The winning percentage of the lawyer
  • The fees of the lawyer. The best lawyers charge higher fees.
  • The nature of the prosecution and defense techniques of the lawyer.
  • The number of high-profile clients they have worked with.
  • The ability of the lawyer to charm the media and the jury.

What are the signs of a good lawyer?

Unprofessional or unethical behavior can include:

  • Arriving late or failing to show up for important meetings, or missing court dates
  • Making decisions of importance about your case without discussing it with you first
  • Missing filing deadlines, filing paperwork incorrectly or filing the wrong paperwork with the court
  • Refusing to return your calls or messages within a reasonable timeframe

More items...

What is qualities character of good lawyer?

Personal Qualities Needed to Be a Lawyer

  • Communication Skills. Lawyers need to possess good oral communication skills in order to be effective in the courtroom and make convincing arguments to judges and juries.
  • Sound Judgment. The ability to think critically is important for lawyers. ...
  • Interpersonal Skills. ...
  • Analytical Skills. ...
  • A Degree of Perseverance. ...

What are the characteristics of the successful lawyer?

“I am someone who…”:

  • “can adapt to any situation. ...
  • “consistently innovates to create value. ...
  • “has a very creative mind. ...
  • “always has an eye on my target. ...
  • “knows this job inside and out. ...
  • “has a high level of motivation to work here. ...
  • “has a pragmatic approach to things. ...
  • “takes work ethics very seriously. ...
  • “can make decisions rapidly if needed. ...

More items...

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Argumentative

Much of your role as a lawyer involves making an argument on behalf of your client. Rather than giving in to what the other side of the courtroom is saying, you need to be the kind of person who is willing to argue for what you believe in.

Composed

While some of your court cases may be intense, you need to find ways to keep your emotions balanced when representing your client. Although it's important to show you are passionate about a case, you still need to keep your composure in the courtroom.

Communicative

Lawyers need to have strong written and verbal communication skills. Remember, you are the one who is a legal professional, meaning that you need to have the ability to communicate complicated legal concepts in simplified terms. Your communication skills can help you ensure your client and the jury understand what you are trying to tell them.

Compassionate

When working with individual clients, there may be a lot of emotions involved. Showing compassion can help your client feel better during uncertain times. It also shows that you genuinely care about their case.

Confident

When presenting your case to the jury, you need to show them that you are confident about your client's stance. Being a lawyer also requires public-speaking skills which require a great deal of confidence. You need to be able to eloquently present evidence and arguments for your client.

Creative

Sometimes finding evidence that is favorable for your client requires some creating thinking. Being a creative person is also helpful when determining what to say about a case. You need to look at a complicated situation and come up with arguments that help your client, which requires quite a bit of creativity.

Driven

Preparing your client's case can take a lot of time and effort. Lawyers need to stay driven throughout the entire process to ensure they are serving their clients to the best of their ability. This drive can help you look at a case in a new way and find better outcomes.

1. Compassion: One of the Many Qualities of a Lawyer

Compassion is an emotional response whereby one perceives another’s problem and authentically, genuinely wants to help resolve the problem. This is part of what lawyers do: People come to us with their problems, or to avoid future problems, and we help resolve or avoid the issues, whichever the case may be.

2. Ability to Listen

Effective communication skills are essential to good lawyering. One of the most important aspects of communication is listening. Of course, what we say, how we say it and when we say it are important. But we can only do it right if we listen first. Listen to your clients. Listen to your adversaries, your colleagues and the judges.

3. Assertiveness, Not Aggressiveness

I often hear people say, “She’s not aggressive enough to be an effective lawyer.” That’s not right. You don’t need to be aggressive — though you must be assertive. Assertive lawyers state their opinions and make themselves heard while remaining respectful of others. Aggressive lawyers attack or ignore others’ opinions in favor of their own.

4. Creativity

We need to be creative to find real solutions to the issues our clients face. Each matter is unique; each client must be handled differently, and each solution carefully crafted. While on the whole we lawyers are a rather risk-averse group, we must learn to think outside the box.

5. Perseverance

Success is achieved with perseverance. We must keep working, keep trying and keep going. We must be able to walk away when things are not working, take a break and come back fresh and ready to “fight,” negotiate, or whatever the matter requires.

1. Creativity

Creativity might seem like a strange place to start. After all, we’re talking about the law, not artistic pursuits such as graphic design! However, being creative is a universal attribute that proves valuable across the board- especially for aspiring attorneys.

2. Being a Strong Communicator

Communication skills are downright essential to anybody hoping to join the bar! Think about it, you might have to stand up in a courtroom and make a persuasive point to a cynical jury. Being articulate, persuasive, clear, and comprehensible is crucial to coming out on top.

3. Being a Good Listener

However, you can’t be a strong communicator without knowing how to listen! Whether they’re speaking or writing, the best lawyers have listened to their clients first, understood their problems, and settled on the best way forward.

4. Being Intelligent

There’s no denying it: intelligent people tend to make better lawyers! Every element of the role calls upon the ability to analyze, interpret, research, and understand the unique components of every case. Without a reasonable level of intellect, doing well in each area can be a challenge.

5. Empathy

However, intelligence isn’t everything! People who exceed in this field are the perfect combination of clever, logical, and empathic too.

6. Being Good With People

This point relates to the last in that empathy always helps when it comes to getting on well with people. The ability to form relationships with ease and make a good first impression is critical to any attorney. Remember, this is a profession where you’re around others all the time (be it your client, the judge, your opposition, or the jury).

7. Hard-Working

An unrelenting work ethic is another essential ingredient in the recipe for becoming a successful lawyer. This is a quality that you see in high-end attorneys such as Jay Rahimi and Kathleen Zellner. They go above and beyond in their bid to win.

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