How to stand out as a young lawyer

It’s why experienced lawyers and legal experts say young entrants to the profession must look for whatever edge they can get over their competition.

Belinda Coniglio, a lawyer and founder of Perth-based consulting firm Ideas and Impact, says a good place to start getting the upper hand is at university.

“Gain practical work experience, even if not in the legal field, while you are studying. Having had some work experience will give you a competitive advantage against those who have solely focused on grades,” Coniglio tells LSJ.

“Don’t forget that legal practice is a service industry so even customer service will help you in smaller firms where you may be client facing from a junior role.”

Ella Hickman, principal at Hickman Family Lawyers, also urges students to gain experience.

She says whether it’s at a community legal centre, doing clerking work, even working as a receptionist in a law firm it’s a big differentiator.

“Get out there,” she says. “If you show up with a great attitude, work hard, have an eagerness to learn, and the team likes you, I can almost guarantee you will get a long-term job out of it somewhere down the line.”

After graduating, a focus should be on building a professional network, the lawyers say.

Relationships are key in any business including the legal game, according to Coniglio, who says getting the right connections will help establish “trust among clients and colleagues”.

Hickman also backs the strategy. The ability to network and be comfortable speaking to people from different backgrounds boosts a young lawyer’s market value, she says.

“I love meeting with someone who comes prepared with questions, who knows about the role they are interviewing for, and who I can have easy conversation with,” says Hickman.

“If you can build rapport with people easily, it’s really appealing to an employer. I think this goes hand in hand with confidence, which is not always the easiest to present as being, but is really appealing.”

On impressing in front of employers, Hickman advises highlighting the quality of resilience.

She says employers know that the legal industry is tough with demanding caseloads, difficult clients and lots of pressure, so they want to know if a prospective hire can hack it.

“It is really hard to ‘teach’ someone how to be resilient or a hard worker. It is something that you sort of get a sense about when you meet people,” she says.

In the context of family law, billing yourself as a “people person” is a plus, she adds.

Family lawyers deal with clients going through difficult personal times so there “is a massive human element to this role”, Hickman explains.

“I also love people who are collaborative and solutions focused. In most areas of the law, there is a commercial aspect to our advice, to try and get the best outcomes for clients in a quick and cost-effective way.”

For Coniglio, a good angle is to “harness cross disciplinary experience”.

“In a market that is evolving with technology, and AI impacts on legal work, gaining experience across different industries makes for an adaptable skill set that can be applied to solving complex legal problems,” the consultant says.

“For instance, my commercial experience as a lawyer was bolstered by my work on IT transformation projects for the Australian government, allowing me to carve out a niche.”

She also urges young job seekers to keep an open mind on options, including when they get into a law firm. She urges a bold approach to sampling different practice areas.

“You can always move across areas as a junior lawyer if you don’t like it or if it doesn’t work out. Trying different areas of law and different roles will help you to identify your strengths and ultimately, your ideal job.

“Remember there is big difference between working in house, for a big firm or a boutique firm,” Coniglio adds. “This life is not for everyone.”

Harmony Aldridge, a legal coach, has  some more left-field suggestions.

Top of the list, she says, is to realise you have a personal brand. It’s “a reputation for how people see you and talk about you when you’re not present,” she explains.

“Many young people, especially women, view reputation building as unnecessary or gauche. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and cultivating a reputation for honesty, approachability, and diligence helps you stand out.”

On the networking front, she points out that the “best jobs are rarely advertised”, with the result being “it’s never too early to start building your professional network”.

This should mean attending events in person as well as making connection via social media platform LinkedIn, sending follow up messages, and initiating coffee catch ups.

There’s also adopting the right mindset as a young job seeker, according to the coach.

“Say yes to opportunities,” she says. “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of progress.”

Harvard University, in its advice to grads trying to snare their first job, also emphasises mindset, especially cultivating attributes looked on favourably by employers.

It urges young job hunters to come across as ambitious as possible with prospective hirers.

“Employers value employees with ambition because they are motivated and focused on what they want to achieve,” the US-based university says.

“ If you have big dreams, let your future employer know. You’ll be demonstrating you are striving for something beyond just paying your bills.”

Another tip is to show an “eagerness to learn”.

Harvard says playing up this attribute creates the impression that “although you have a lot to learn, you’re committed to learning and growing your professional acumen”.

Fostering a willingness to learn can be more than a marketing tool by helping grads to expand their skill set, adapt to situations, and generally improve themselves..

Other key qualities to play up are dependability, positivity, communication skills and teamwork, according to Harvard.

“Don’t try to hide your inexperience – embrace it. Show that you are motivated to learn by highlighting your other skills,” the university says.

Carrie Peterson, founder and Principal Solicitor of  Peterson Haines, a law firm specialising in commercial litigation and dispute resolution, says there are several personal attributes she looks for in young lawyers.

These include trustworthiness, professionalism, empathy, interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. Just as important, she says, is knowledge and passion for the law, technical know-how, a commitment to wellbeing, and a determined attitude.

As she explains: “The idea that young lawyers need to have a sound knowledge of the law and so on is, in my view, outdated. Those things are now an expectation”.

“Key professional attributes such as determination, confidence not arrogance and emotional intelligence are skills that all lawyers, not just young lawyers, should cultivate, as they are key contributors to maximise market value,” Peterson says.

“These are the things that are typically identifiable at an interview and speak volumes.” What’s more, “young lawyers who can see a challenge as an opportunity to learn are valuable and as a partner, very exciting people to mentor”.

In the context of commercial litigation, Peterson adds a couple of extra marketable qualities – empathy and the ability to let go.

On the subject of empathy, she suggests that lawyers in her field can get “so lost in the billable hour that sometimes the human face in complex commercial disputes can be lost”.

In practice, this results in a wrong-headed approach from some solicitors, who deal with other parties as though they are adversaries instead of understanding that clients come to lawyers to help resolve the dispute in their best interests.

Young commercial lawyers who don’t “nit-pick” are also attractive, according to Peterson.

That’s because many lawyers, at least those in commercial litigation, struggle to “let go” and instead “hang onto everything either the other side of our clients say or write”, she says.

“Learning when to, and more importantly, when not to engage is a skill that can take years to master”, according to the Sydney-based lawyer.

Another factor Peterson is big on is specialisation. She says working to specialise in a particular field of law will, over the long-term, help lawyers maximise market value.

It’s something that can be cultivated from early in a legal career, she says.

“It is, to a degree, something that can be controlled by making smart choices on what roles to accept, and equally, having a clear vision on where the young lawyer wishes to be by accepting that role,” Peterson explains.

On the flipside, a perceived lack of credibility is a killer when it comes to landing a first job and represent a major downside risk to a young lawyer. Peterson’s advice here is simple: “use words with purpose”.

A lack of professionalism can also hurt, she says. “Our industry is very small. Remaining professional at all times is critical. Write as though a court will read whatever you are writing all the time.”

Dentons, the global law firm, adds that a lawyer’s reputation can be easily damaged, making it something young lawyers should protect, especially in the age of social media.

Recent UK research bears out the risk, revealing nearly a third (32 per cent) of workers and 47 per cent of younger workers feel they have compromised future career prospects by posting online.

Denton says that scrutiny of lawyers’ conduct in their private lives often focuses on the fact that lawyers have gone into a profession built around morality, honesty and integrity.

“Just as lawyers take care to avoid breaching ethical rules in their practice, lawyers can also be aware that misconduct in their personal lives, whether criminal or not, can also lead to trouble,” it says.

Resumé issues can also sink young legal job hunters, Hickman says, pointing to a major cause for concern being a CV that indicates a lot of job movement.

In her opinion, duration of employment trumps legal experience when it comes to hiring young lawyers.

“I love to see that you have been working; and you have stayed with an employer for a long time,” she says.

“I understand that this isn’t always possible, so it might be useful sometimes to explain why a particular role was only held for a short time. I think for some employers, especially in this industry, it can be a bit of a red flag if someone has moved around a lot.”