How to become a Good Attorney

Signs you'd be A Good lawyer

Considering law school? These are ten signs that you make a good attorney.

1. You adore to debate. Day in and day out, you argue about everything. About what to eat for dinner, about the correct amount of detergent for a wash cycle, even about what the fastest route to a given point is. An attorney earns a crust out of disagreeing. With their opponents, with the courts, with insurance companies, even with their own client. The very nature of being an attorney needs an adversarial edge. If you adore to argue, being an attorney might be right for you.

2. You adore to draft. If you adore to pen, and are good at it, you may want to consider being an attorney. An attorney drafts pants, contracts, motions, pleadings, along with lots of letters each year. Writing is a great part of being an attorney, so if you like writing, it may be a sign that you would make a good attorney.

3. You're a workaholic. Some of the best attorneys work 70 to eighty hours a week. If that sounds like a measly number to you, becoming an attorney might be your thing.

4. You're a good negotiator. An attorney negotiates on a daily basis. Without regard for what field of law you specialize in, whether it is negotiating an injury claim, a plea bargain, or a contract for a pro athlete, you'll have to bring negotiating skills to the table.

5. You are persuasive. This is crucial if you want to become a litigator. Motion practice and trial work is all about convincing people to your side of the discussion. Whether you are persuading a jury or a judge, it needs a great amount of ability and practice.

6. You balance time well. As an attorney, you will need to balance your time between paperwork, conferences, and courtroom appearances. You'll have to reply to telephone calls and e-mail inquiries as well as schedule face-to-face conferences.

7. Endurance. You will need to write letter after letter and draft motion after motion. To succeed as an attorney you must be determined.

8. Patience. Being an attorney means a large amount of waiting around. Waiting around courthouses. Waiting around calls. Waiting for clients. If patience isn't your forte, be prepared to begin to see a few grey hairs.

9. You have thick skin. Irate judges, annoyed clients, vicious adversaries. You'll take your fair proportion of abuse. You'd better have thick skin if you would like a chance of becoming a good attorney.

10. You have to be aggressive. No customer wants an attorney who is a pushover. Clients need barristers who are hungry and unafraid of a fight.