ADVANCE COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Thursday, 09 July 2015

QUESTION:
The most important qualifications legal professionals can possess are
excellent writing ability, good interpersonal relations and the ability to
think critically and strategically. Discuss.

SUGGESTED ANSWER
Introduction
Every respectable profession requires a set of very special skills
that distinguish it from others.
For example, engineering
professionals may be required to have very sharp arithmetic
skills whilst art professionals may be required to be more
creative and imaginative.
Every skill set plays an essential role in helping to achieve the
professional goals of the professional in his respective field of
work. For example, whilst the arithmetic skills of an engineer
may be essential in enabling him to calculate the number of
reinforcement (iron rods) in a concrete beam or column, the
creative and imaginative skills of an artist may be absolutely
indispensable in helping the artist to sketch or draw an
impression of a chosen object such as the sun setting on a
beach at some distant location. Whilst there are so many skill
sets available to lawyers, this assignment restricts me to only
four (4), which are (i) excellent writing ability, (ii) good
interpersonal relations, (iii) ability to think critically and (iv)
ability to think strategically.
I will endeavour to do my best to highlight the importance of
each of these to the contemporary law professional.
Excellent Writing Ability
A good legal professional must possess formidable writing skills
that will be required in preparing compelling arguments, briefs,
motions, and other legal documents. Writing skills can be
defined as the ability to articulate ones thoughts effectively
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Thursday, 09 July 2015

through the medium of writing. Law schools worldwide

emphasize on the development of the writing skills of their
students. The question is why is it so?
Firstly, the capacity to express thoughts, legal opinions and
conclusions is fundamentally essential to the lawyer. Words are
a lawyers weapons, so in all aspects of a lawyers work, words
are chosen cautiously. Whether drafting a legal document or
writing the response to an inquiry, a lawyer must write in a
clear and concise manner otherwise it introduces ambiguity
which can lead to an array of possible interpretations of his
writing and, in law, this is undesirable.
Secondly, aside from the preparation of courtroom speeches,
writing skills are necessary in drafting legal documentation. An
example of this would be a patent lawyer creating a patent for
a client. He or She must write in such a manner as to ensure
there are no loopholes in the patent, as this would make it
redundant. Also writing skills are important for the drafting of
contracts. The words of a contract are legally binding, so
people usually hire experienced lawyers who possess a very
high standard of writing to draft them, so that undesirable flaws
shall be avoided. Good drafting skills reduces the risk of liability.
Thirdly, for the avoidance of errors, good writing skills must be
employed by the professional lawyer. The term writing skills
also includes the employment of good grammar and
punctuation. An example of the importance of punctuation is
evident in the American punctuation v. smudge debate. This
debate was born from the Fifth Amendment of the United
States Constitution. It states nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation. Some people
believe the comma following the word use in the original
draft of the constitution was a smudge, not a comma. If this
were the case, the meaning of the quoted clause would change
drastically.

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Thursday, 09 July 2015

Finally, writing skills are essential to legal professional because

they allow lawyers to express ideas and legal opinions, convey
arguments and avoid any ambiguity in their work. A good
lawyer does not make mistakes when creating legal writing,
and good writing skills can eliminate mistakes.
Good Interpersonal Relations
A good lawyer must be capable of relating excellently with his
clientele, his boss, subordinates, peers and other people
relevant to his work.
He must possess effective
communication skills. His ability to relate and interact with
others in such a way as to engender confidence, form lasting
relationships, and clearly explain complex situations in a clear
manner is integral to the role of a solicitor. In addition, having
good people skills will help the professional lawyer to interact
with a wide variety of characters at the workplace and fit into
the character of their firm. It is imperative to have the skills to
be able to tap into the knowledge and experience of different
people in order to be successful. For example, establishing a
good relationship with the secretary of the firm may earn you
favours such as having your work placed at the top of the pile
and your work turnaround very quickly, leaving a good
impression on your superiors. This would most likely earn you
the promotion or perhaps the acknowledgement that you have
been seeking.
Undoubtedly, the most successful lawyers tend to be
personable and able to work effectively with people by
cultivating, building, developing and maintaining relationships
with clients and colleagues alike. As they progress through
their careers, their firms expect them to build up a list of
contacts and eventually win new business.
Marketing
opportunities are very important and it is important that they
are able to show clients that as well as being a solid legal
technician, they are also good value in a social context.

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Thursday, 09 July 2015

Critical Thinking Ability

In order to be a successful legal professional a person must
possess critical thinking skills.
The relevant dictionary definition of the word critical is
exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious
evaluation. Critical thinking is simply clear, reasoned thinking
involving critique.
It involves making clear reasoned
judgements on a subject or topic. During the process, ideas are
clearly and well thought out. Alternatively, it can also be
defined as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and
skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing,
and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by
observation,
experience,
reflection,
reasoning,
or
communication, as a guide to belief and action
In this context, law professionals must be capable of
questioning and analysing what they hear, what they see, what
they read, what they feel, and what they think.
First impressions are often wrong and frequently change after
more thoughtful analysis. Therefore, law professionals need to
question the cases they have read. This enables them to
analyse the facts of law presented in the case rather than
merely accepting them. Law professionals need to think about
these facts and the law and then decide whether a courts
decision is well reasoned. It is an exercise in critical thinking,
when they carry out this activity. Critical thinking stretches the
mind of the professional.
Critical thinking often includes deductive reasoning that is,
reasoning from a general rule to a specific conclusion. Legal
professionals are taught to identify issues, state the general
legal rules that apply, and then analyse the facts in light of the
rules to formulate conclusions. Applying a general rule to a set
of facts is an example of deductive reasoning. Sherlock Holmes
was famous for using deductive reasoning to solve mysteries.
Remember the case of the dog that did not bark in the story
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Thursday, 09 July 2015

Silver Blaze? A crime took place in the stables where a dog

slept near two stable boys. Because the dog did not bark and
wake the boys, Holmes was able to deduce that the dog was
familiar with the midnight visitor to the stables. Reasoning from
the specific to the general is called inductive reasoning.
Lawyers and judges often use inductive reasoning when they
analyse a series of specific cases to develop a general legal
rule. Another form of critical thinking is reasoning by analogy.
This process is based on the concept that similar facts or
principles should lead to similar conclusions. A legal
professional should be able to often look for analogies in other
cases or fields of law to make arguments that are beneficial to
their clients. For example, if an employer is not liable for the
intentional torts of her employees, then by analogy, an
employer should not be liable for the criminal conduct of her
employees. The element of intent is similar in both cases, thus
the result should be similar. When a case is virtually identical to
the facts and law of your case, it is said to be on all fours with
your case.
In the same vein, Legal professionals should be able to look for
distinctions in the facts or law while they argue that adverse
cases do not apply to their clients circumstances. Being able to
distinguish a case is just as important as making an analogy. In
private practice, clients will often come to your office, give you
a handful of documents and a long string of disjointed facts,
and ask you if they have a case. First, the legal professional
must understand the facts as thoroughly as possible. Then he
or she must research the law and think through how the facts
and law relate.
Only then would they be in a position to form a competent
conclusion for their client.
Lawyers must be able to think on their feet during trials,
arbitrations, mediations, negotiations, communications with
opposing counsel, and even communications with their own
client. A legal professional knows he is succeeding in his critical
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thinking skills when he is able to dissect and analyse every

statement or request from youre his parents, spouse,
colleagues, his boss, and most importantly his client.
Wash the car? Oh, you mean our car? Today? Using our
water?
Strategic Thinking Ability
There is no contesting the fact that the hallmarks of great
lawyering will always remain: knowledge of the law, rigorous
analysis, strong listening skills, and clarity of written and oral
communication. However, more is needed to qualify as a first
class professional. Strategic thinking is essential to ensure that
the lawyer is able to serve in leadership roles. He must be able
to lead his client or his firm to success.
No one should doubt that a legal professional best serves his
client when he understands and can help his client plan a
strategy for achieving the client's objective. Consider how the
hallmarks of legal analysis within a law firm may not only
ignore, but may actually impede, the professional's growth as a
strategic thinker.
The well-regarded case method places the professional in the
place of the appellate judge. All the facts have been gathered;
the precedents surveyed; and the principal skill required is an
evaluation of which of the available outcomes will best fit with
existing law.
The virtues of this analytical situation should not be overlooked.
The professional will learn to sort relevant information from
irrelevant commentary. He will see quickly that the unfolding of
unanticipated events poses new questions hiding within
seemingly settled matters. And he will come to appreciate how
disputes between individuals often implicate broad choices
between values, such as whether a court should follow a
contract as written or seek a broader approach to the intent of
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the parties. Put simply, current legal training produces experts

who have no rivals in identifying and coping with ambiguous
situations that arise in a settled framework.
Strategic thinking legal professionals, to whatever degree or
extent, must focus not just on resolving ambiguity, but on
navigating uncertainty. In the rapidly changing economy in
which clients function and lawyers seek to prosper, the only
constant is that tomorrow will look different from today.
Accordingly, the legal professional must be capable of
identifying achievable objectives and planning a course to
reach them. Questions such as the meaning of a statute or the
reach of a case feel very different from questions such as in
what markets is success likely to be found; which areas of
business (or practice) are likely to grow; in what locations
should an enterprise expand; or how is technology likely to
transform business. Lawyers confront the latter sort of
questions every day, and must move swiftly to address such
strategic challenges.
How can this be achieved? Step one involves data. Lawyers
have long been familiar with the painstaking work of building a
case or negotiating a deal through careful assembly of relevant
information. The lawyer must go well beyond case preparation
to determine what facts must be gathered to formulate a
strategy. They must assemble teams to seek out such relevant
information. The comfort of the appellate opinion gives way to
the task of identifying potential customers and predicting their
needs; selecting relevant competitors and measuring their
tactics; and devising metrics to determine whether the
institution is on track. The legal professional must be
increasingly familiar with the tools for assembling and
analysing data that will be second nature for their clients.
The harder challenge is one of mind set. The tough, critical
analysis demanded from attorneys makes it child's play for the
lawyer on a project team to find holes in the links between data
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and strategy. When the business strategist suggests opening a

branch office in a nearby city due to population growth, the
lawyer may be the first to ask whether the buying habits of the
newcomers can demonstrably be shown to warrant expansion.
Lawyers by their very nature are often cautious about the sorts
of inferences business people rely upon to move things forward.
Professionals must be able to overcome such professional
prejudice. In today's world, let alone tomorrows, the better
solution to problems lurking within available data is to gather
more and better data. It's far cheaper and easier to obtain and
analyse data than it was 20 years ago, and these costs will
keep falling. Lawyers helping clients manage legal risks must
embrace the need for quantitative assessments even as they
retain their well-honed flair for qualitative analysis.

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