The Core Skills Gap
Despite all the worn rhetoric about learning to “think like a lawyer,” objective observers agree that law schools often fail to provide their graduates with the practical skills that they’ll need on the job. While this has arguably been true for years, it mattered much less when clients were willing to foot the bill for new associate training (which was generally—and sometimes persists as—an ad hoc, piecemeal affair). At the same time, in response to market conditions, many firms have cut costs by either cancelling or significantly reducing their professional development. This is a perversely short-sighted approach: just when firms are most hard-pressed to justify the contributions of junior associates, many are abandoning efforts to enhance the value those same associates can bring.
This core skills gap on the part of new associates manifests itself in two distinct ways:
1. Deficit of professional “soft” skills.
Attorneys are not exactly celebrated for their empathy, aptitude for listening, or the overall deftness of their “people skills.” Which is unfortunate, obviously, considering that the law is fundamentally a service profession and it’s impossible to overstate the centrality of such skills to successful client representation. The foundation of these professional skills is a particular form of “self-awareness” that supports insight into how an individual’s demeanor and communication styles affect client interaction and service. The good news is that this self-awareness and associated of skills and behavior can be learned and refined.
2. Lack of business-based skills.
Perhaps conveniently forgetting how it was when they themselves were newly-minted JDs, experienced law firm lawyers are often heard to complain about the utter cluelessness of newbie lawyers. “What’s the difference between equity and debt financing? What’s an IPO? What’s the difference between a stock and a bond?” For anyone with a modicum of business knowledge, these are no-brainers. Yet these are the sort of things that well-credentialed first-year associates actually ask. In order to be of any value to clients, associates need considerable understanding of business context. It is not enough that an associate understand what she is doing, she must know why a client needs to solve a particular legal problem.
Business-based skills can be divided into four aspects:
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Finance skills
“I want to go to law school because I enjoy crunching numbers,” said no one, ever. Yet being business savvy—with all the quantitative competence that entails—separates first-rate attorneys from the pedestrian. In an ideal world, no one would graduate from law school without being able to read a balance sheet and some understanding of GAAP. We do not live in such a world. The question becomes how—not whether—attorneys fill these gaps so that they can become the business-minded counsel their clients want and expect. An increasing number of firms are turning to business immersion programs like The Fullbridge Program. Such courses can offer a rich mix of strategy, basic business, core finance, and teamwork training to quickly get lawyers up to speed on these critical skills.
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Legal industry market forces
Law school is often hyper competitive, “zero-sum” environment. But law practice—in theory!—is a cooperative, team-based endeavor. Lawyers must play well with others in order to handle large, complex matters. Yet law schools largely ignore team-based learning, outside of moot competitions and journal work. Law firms can and should draw on the example of MBA-type programs for which teamwork and collaboration are key. Understanding how individual temperaments and learning styles interact, and being able to effectively navigate complex team dynamics should be part of every lawyer’s toolkit.
The landscape for the delivery of legal services is rapidly and continually changing, with commoditization, disaggregation, and disintermediation becoming factors up and down the legal supply chain. Now more than ever, associates need to understand the choices which sophisticated clients have when it comes to legal services. Alternative legal service providers, unique pricing arrangements, and the use of LPOs are all alive and well—yet many attorneys don’t really understand that these services exist—let alone understand how to compete with (or, better yet, take advantage of) them.
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“Thinking like a businessman”
Lawyers are perfectionists by nature and feel the need to make sure they have left no stone unturned before advising a client. The ultimate goal is should always be to solve the client’s problems in a way meaningful to the client. Lawyers who fight over every clause lose sight of the big picture. They hurt deals, cause delays and drive up costs. Lawyers need to think like businessmen and get deals done quickly and properly. This is learned skill. Every legal problem is part of someone else’s business problem—and only the lawyers who understand business strategy and operations can truly appreciate their clients’ perspectives.
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Business operations of a client entity
Lawyers must know their clients business inside and out. Full stop. Attorneys must abreast of their clients’ industry, as well as what’s going on in the wider business world. Clients are looking to their top counsel to provide them guidance on more than legal issues—they want trusted advisors, who understand both the business and the legal landscape.
The December edition of ATL Human Capital is sponsored by The Fullbridge Program. Fullbridge partners with premier law firms to provide business education programs to both new and seasoned attorneys.
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