How to Be a Better Lawyer: Some Helpful Tips & Tricks

It doesn't matter whether you're a fresh or a professional lawyer – you always need to be better. Why? Well, because staying at the same level for a very long time will make things very dull.

However, the desire to be a better lawyer will keep feeding you with new information, experiences, and an ever-changing lifestyle. In turn, this will keep things interesting for a long, long time - for criminal and personal injury lawyers alike.

As such, let's take a look at some helpful tips and tricks that can help you become a better lawyer!

If you watched law TV shows, you might have noticed how both rookies and professionals have a mentor. In most cases, a rookie is mentored by a professional, while the latter learns in becoming a better lawyer from the head of the firm he works in.

In short, you always need someone else to entice you with new experiences and feed you with valuable information. A lawyer shouldn't deal with arduous trials alone and should have a mentor by their side to guide them, even if just a little.

Your client will usually tell you exactly what they want. However, the opposite party may switch some terms and suddenly greet you with entirely different proposals/settlements.

In such cases, the lawyer must know how to negotiate in favor of their client. Moreover, lawyers should not let emotions get the best of them and act, as mentioned, only in their clients' interests.

Personal injury lawyers, for example, know how to deal with more than just personal injury cases. There are specific practical legal skills that a lawyer must master to make their life easier and more interesting.

The two most essential skills they must master are drafting and advocacy. The latter makes lawyers more concise and, in most cases, helps them build a reputation, while the former helps them keep things short and on point (mainly when drafting declarations and so on).

We all know that the work-life balance is sometimes missing from a lawyer's life. After all, having cases, trials, and billable hours on their mind all day long doesn't promote a healthy personal lifestyle. How does one solve this?

To the surprise of many, some lawyers state that to be a better lawyer, you should forget the balance between work and life but instead, mustn't stop being kind to yourself.

In short, while you may work around the clock, remember to take some time for a break, some downtime, a well-deserved meal, and your loved ones. If the time you spend doing the aforementioned is little, at least ensure that it is of high quality.

In the end, one can become a better lawyer if they remember that they, too, are human. No matter where you are in your career, you still need a mentor to teach you the wrongs and rights you are yet to face.

At the same time, you must always keep in mind that you work for the client, and they rely on you and your skills. Lastly, personal life is worth cherishing, no matter how little time you're able to dedicate to it.