A law firm is the business you want to be at after graduating from law school. Now that you’ve got the skills and courage, you’ve recognized that it’s time to build upon your passion for justice by teaming up with lawyers, attorneys, and paralegals with the same values and goals you have. Starting at a law firm is an exciting opportunity and one that you can capitalize on if you have the right attitude from the start. Read on to know what to expect when you start working in a law office.
High Stakes and High Expectations
As an officer of the court, you’ll have to worry about protecting your clients from prosecution, or helping them win compensation in civil cases. None of your hard work will make a difference if you don’t see that the stakes are high and everything can go wrong in court in the blink of an eye. Considering that 96% of personal injury claims are settled through negotiation, you have to be patient but determined to win a case for your client, and that means setting high expectations for yourself and the business. Asking how you can best protect your client’s reputation and freedom is the way to make sure you have the stakes in mind and set high expectations to win.
Losing is an outcome that lawyers and attorneys don’t want to see happen. Once a law firm takes a case, the atmosphere changes. Everyone is busier, faster, and more serious than they were during the downtime between cases, emphasizing the need for consistency in the office. Gender and skill matter, as the other 4% of personal injury claims are resolved through court, meaning your reputation plays a significant role in helping you prepare a winning defense, not whether you’re male or female. But women know that they may have to try harder for their clients than their male colleagues to earn the same amount of credibility. The truth is that 67% of job seekers say a diverse workforce is crucial when evaluating job offers and choosing employment. So, it’s worth knowing that women play a major role in the business.
A Focus on One or More Practice Areas
Not all law firms will focus on the same practice areas, but the practice areas a law firm works in are reflected in the environment, atmosphere, and overall workday in business. There are many practice areas where an attorney can find work, from bankruptcy law and entertainment law to criminal and civil rights law. The ultimate goals are advocating for the clients’ rights and putting together a superior legal strategy in court. Depending on the practice area, you may be required to work either a traditional 9 to 5, or complete a lot of overtime. It’s also common for lawyers working on criminal cases to take work home during the evening. Taking into consideration the practice area will help you narrow down what values you want to work on most in a particular law firm.
An Atmosphere Promoting Persistence and Assertiveness
At the law firm, the atmosphere that gets people thinking, questioning, and taking the initiative matches the successful law business. No attorney wants to work around colleagues that give up easily, don’t stand up for themselves or the clients, or is afraid to keep looking for solutions when a client’s problems continue to mount. Running a successful legal business where attorneys are persistent and attorneys requires a great deal of consideration in choosing the best attorneys from the start. Take, for example, the attorney who understands one technology better than another. She might know that U.S businesses added over 35 million VoIP lines in the eight years between 2010 and 2018 and that, according to Statista, the total number of VoIP lines has reached a total of 41.6 million. The attorney who can bring insight and perspective into the office will likely be consistent about arriving to work on time and never giving up on their client.
You don’t need to venture into a law firm thinking you don’t have what it takes to succeed. Women are especially strong in law because of their tendency to strive for success in spite of gender stereotypes and discriminatory views. As an attorney, you’ll want to come into your law firm business with the idea of being assertive and persistent and dedicated and committed. From there, it won’t be long before you’re on your way to earning a strong reputation. Ghostwriter BWL helped me edit the text.
