Differentiate yourself and develop your career: essential skills for junior lawyers

Adaptability is your superpower

“Clients’ businesses are evolving at pace, and you’ll need to evolve too – often at short notice”, says Roohi Nayak, early careers development manager at DLA Piper. So, how do you learn adaptability? “No amount of training sitting in a room on ‘how to be adaptable’ will work”, she says. “That’s not how you make people adaptable to change.”

Instead, it’s a combination of a variety of practical experience and regularly stepping outside of your comfort zone. Whether it’s changes in clients’ markets, technology or the requirements of the job, you will need to be prepared to pivot.

“For our trainees, we ensure they build their adaptability through every seat of their rotation across the two years. We ask them three questions. Are you getting a wide variety of tasks? Do you have exposure to clients? Do you feel challenged and stretched?” explains Roohi. “Through this continuous feedback to the business, we ensure adaptability is built, strengthened further through client and international secondments.” 

The need to be able to pivot quickly resonates with Harry Clark, an associate at Mishcon de Reya. “Tomorrow's lawyers must develop their ability to learn new information quickly and to remain flexible in their approach to work. Global regulatory frameworks are becoming increasingly complex, clients' products and technologies are developing at a breakneck pace. All of these factors demand lawyers to be agile, self-reflective and open-minded in their ways of work.”

Growing your business awareness

New technology provides future lawyers with an opportunity to hone client expertise and stay up-to-date with the sectors in which they operate.

“Clients will continue to expect that delivery of services demonstrates an understanding of their business, its strategic goals, and want solutions that work across regions”, says Roohi.

“As much of the core legal work becomes automated, business acumen and wider skills – such as negotiation, communication, and risk management – will be the differentiators, enabling lawyers to add value in ways that technology cannot replace”, adds Katie Dyer, partner at Bevan Brittan LLP, and training committee member at the City of London Law Society (CLLS).

“On a practical level, project management capabilities will be crucial as legal teams handle increasingly complex, cross-disciplinary tasks. Strong business development and cross-selling skills in order to win work will help differentiate firms from competitors.”

It’s important to find the right balance between online and in person networking, says Samantha Hope.

Build your profile in a way that works for you

Whether you’re prioritising meeting commercial targets to grow your firm, are in need of a mentor, or want to be more visible as an expert to your clients, it’s likely you’ll need to take on some form of networking and profile raising. 

Connecting with others has always been an important part of lawyer life – but handing out business cards and deciding on the firmness of your handshake will only get you so far. Short of bringing long lunches back, there are other ways to boost your network – online and in person. 

“There is a shift to online networking, but there is a massive skill gap in the industry”, says Samantha Hope, emerging talent manager at Shoosmiths. “LinkedIn is being massively underutilised. It’s a real skill we could be teaching to new entrants into the profession. It’s not just about clicking a button that says ‘connect’, it’s about sharing a bit about yourself, what you do, what your business is and what you want to gain.”

There will always be a balance between in-person and online relationship-building, and that balance depends on what works for the individual, says Samantha. “It’s easy to fall into a rut and think that online is easier, but you can forget the buzz some people might get out of a real event, particularly if you’re working from home a lot.”

“Without the client we wouldn’t exist”

Whether you’re learning to adapt more quickly, developing your commercial awareness or becoming an expert in your chosen practice or sectors, our experts suggest that a strong focus on client care unites all aspects of the well-rounded lawyer of the future. 

Denise Wright, early careers manager at Weightmans sums it up: “Above all else, the client is the centre of everything. Without them we don’t exist”.