Every law student will get his bachelor's degree after passing his exams. Getting a law degree is not a big thing. But, what exceptional things have you done in your life besides getting a law degree? In this blog post I am going to talk about some skills which are very much essential for law students. How can you achieve these skills and what will be the benefit of acquiring these skills? All this I am going to discuss in this blog post. But first let us discuss why skills are important for lawyers and law students. The skills make you stand out from the crowd. The competition is very tough in the legal field. If you achieve these skills, it will be beneficial for you in your life and may help you make a successful career in law.
Must-Have Skills for Lawyers & Law Students:
I am mentioning some important skills which lawyers and law students must possess.
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(1). Legal Research:
Whether you are a lawyer, law graduate, law student, teacher, or an academician, legal research is the first and the foremost skill which is very much required in the legal field. Although, legal research is primarily a domain of master's degree in law, yet its importance can never be forgotten in this profession. Starting from a law student, he may have to research a large number of cases for his project or assignment in his college. For having publications in a good Law journal, a student should write quality research papers. Participating in Moot Court competitions is a good thing and will add weightage to your CV.
If you are a lawyer, for winning a case legal research is required. Without quality research you cannot furnish arguments in favour of your clients. Similarly, if one wants to thrive in the research field, he has to have good research skills. If you are pursuing your masters degree or a Ph.D, legal research is mandatory.
How to Improve Legal Research Skills?
Practice. For improving your research skills, you should start reading research papers published in journals. Read the subject legal research carefully. You may also take the help of your teachers for acquiring this skill. You should have the understanding of using online databases to find material for your research. You may also read and publish blogs. It will eventually ameliorate your writing skills.
After you improve your writing and research skills, you may be able to write good quality research papers and get them published in law journals. As a law student, do participate in moot court competitions as it will improve your research skills because you will prepare memorials for both the sides of the case. In addition to these tips, you may also read the judgements of the Courts.
(2). Drafting Skills:
Pleading and drafting is an important subject in the curriculum of law. Every student must learn drafting. Not only drafting but the art of drafting is also important. What you learn in your college may not be sufficient for you. You have to focus on drafting if you want to make a career in litigation as an independent lawyer. Even if you want to work in a firm, you must have good drafting skills.
Drafting skills are not restricted to drafting pleading like plaints and written statements but also extend to drafting contracts and agreements. So, if you are a young lawyer or a law student probably in your final year, you should have exquisite drafting skills. One should know the proper formatting of the legal documents like plaints, affidavits, power of attorney, appeals, etc.
How to Acquire Drafting Skills:
The simple answer to this question is your practice. The more you draft legal documents the more you learn. You may do one thing which is very easy if you want to improve your drafting skills. You may download the samples of legal documents from the internet and practice drafting in your notebook. Instead of typing those documents I would suggest you to first write with a pen on a paper or notebook.
During your internships, you find a good opportunity to improve your drafting skills. Go and find any advocate under whom you may do internship and learn the art of drafting. Merely studying for clearing the examination may not be very helpful. After you pass your pleading and drafting exam, you should continue drafting legal documents.
(3). Communication Skills:
It is often demanded in all the fields of study. But what are communication skills. Communication skill may be defined as a skill of communicating your ideas to the others. The others will interpret your ideas and act upon them. So, is it restricted to mere good speaking? Speaking is only a part of communication skills. Communication skills is very much essential for law students and lawyers. If you do not understand what others are saying, your efforts will go in vain. You should be able to express your ideas or thoughts to the people so that they can understand your intent. Communication skills include speaking skills, writing skills, listening skills and reading skills.
(4). Speaking Skills:
What language you speak does not matter. What does it matter is that how do you speak. Are you able to communicate your ideas to others in an efficient manner or do you hesitate in speaking to someone? Merely speaking is not a communication skill. Speaking skills are the skills by which you don't stutter while speaking. If you stutter, people will not understand what you are saying. For a law student, speaking is very much essential because he may be required to give presentations in his college. For lawyers, speaking skills is an integral part of their skills. Without speaking skills you cannot prosper in this profession.
How to Improve Speaking Skills:
It is not very difficult to improve your speaking skills. I can give you a useful tip. Stand in front of a mirror and look at yourself. Look into your eyes and speak whatever you want. Observe how people speak. Avoid speaking too fast or too slow as it may disrupt the flow of your speech. You may repeat this practice for a week and eventually you will get to know how to speak fluently.
(5). Writing Skills:
Law students are supposed to be good writers. Writing skills are not restricted to writing without mistakes but it extends to writing meaningful things. This attribute is sine qua non because if you want to get good marks in your semester examinations, you must be able to write without tiring your hands. If you are a judiciary aspirant, you must practice the art of writing good answers because in the mains examination you have to write beautiful answers. Moreover, think before you write. Before attempting a question you should read the question very well and after that make a synopsis in your mind.
How to Improve Writing Skills?
Achieving writing skills requires ractice. First of all improve your handwriting. Beautiful handwriting can fetch you good marks and leaves an impression in the mind of the examiner. Whatever exam you are giving, write beautiful answers in beautiful handwriting. For improving writing skills, grab a notebook and pen. Start writing alphabets and make their combinations. Get it checked by someone. Repeat this practice and start writing regularly. If you are willing to become a judge, you must practice the art of writing answers in the mains exam. Daily practice answer writing.
(6). Listening Skills:
How can we forget the listening skills. A good lawyer or a law student must be an active and a good listener. We should listen to others before starting our arguments. This skill demonstrates professionalism. Being an active listener is necessary for a law student because unless we understand what others are saying we cannot put our argument. If a question is asked from us and we don't understand the question, we cannot answer the same. Therefore, one must develop active listening skills in order to perform well in legal profession or in a law school.
How to Improve Listening Skills:
Just listen to the people. Expand your network. Make more friends who are willing to improve their skills. One of the most easiest ways for ameliorating listening skills is to watch news everyday. Gradually, you will develop a skill of listening and catching the words of the speakers. In addition to improving your active listening skills, watching news will also be helpful for having a thorough knowledge of current affairs. Participation in extra curricular activities like debates and other competitions will also be helpful.
(7). Reading Skills:
Lawyers are supposed to be expedient readers. A person belonging to the legal profession must know the art of reading the bare Acts or statutory language of the legislation. This is also intrinsic for law students. If one cannot understand the wording of the bare Act, he cannot plead his case. A practice must be developed by the students of law by virtue of which they can understand the bare language in an expeditious manner. It is true that the language of statutes is very complex and a layman cannot easily understand the same. But, a lawman should develop exquisite reading skills.
How to Improve Reading Skills:
Reading skills can be improved by reading newspaper daily. If you do not have time to read the whole newspaper, you may read a few articles. Another tip which I can give you is that you should keep a dictionary with you while studying or reading newspaper. If you do not have a dictionary, you may either purchase it or may download any app for it. Whenever you find a word the meaning of which you do not know, search for that word in the dictionary and do not skip that word. I know it may be a time consuming process but you can improve your reading skills in this way. Another good tip for law students is that they should read the judgements of the Courts. Reading research papers is another good option. Try to read the documents both in your mind and by speaking.
Conclusion:
These are the skills which are are indispensable for prospering in legal profession. A student from his 1st year in college or university should endeavour to acquire these skills. You cannot master the skills in one day. It requires practice and patience. Similarly, a good lawyer must also have these skills. Even if you are from a different profession and reading this blog post, these skills are very helpful in career development. Thanks for reading this blog post. If you like this blog post, share this blog with your friends.
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