Professional Advocates
A successful Advocate must posses the right skills to match their particular area of law. Many of these skills will be developed over time, but it is also necessary to hold the right professional qualifications to enter this career path.
Let's take a look at a few of the major qualities that any decent Advocate should have:
Communication skills
An Advocate must have the ability to display essential communication skills such as being a good listener, good at written communication, and orally articulate. The need to write clearly, concisely and persuasively is very important in the event of needing to write or give input on legal documents. Additionally, the Advocates will need to analyze and listen to testimony, so the ability to listen and understand what is being said is essential.
Analytical skills
The ability to absorb a lot of information is essential for someone who wishes to understand the law. Also, once this information is absorbed it is necessary to have the ability to break it down into something that is logical and manageable. This can often be made more difficult because there are often multiple options to resolve a situation or come to a reasonable conclusion. For this reason, the ADVOCATE will need to develop evaluative skills that can help to identify the most effective option.
People skills
In addition to doing very well academically, an Advocate will be expected to have great people skills. They should be persuasive, personable, and have the ability to read others. This can help in many different situations, such as gauging a person's honesty.
Research skills
The ability to effectively and quickly research a particular subject is a very important skill. This can help to fully understand a client, appreciate the specific needs, and work on the necessary legal strategies. The process of preparing the legal strategies will mean a lot of information needs to be absorbed and comprehended. After this, it is important to create an effective strategy that is useful and manageable.
Creativity
Any Advocate that is well-respected is able to not only show their analytical and logical skills, but also show their creative side which is needed to solve a wide range of problems. It is often necessary to consider the less obvious solutions to be successful and achieve the most favorable outcome for their client.
Judgment
An Advocate must have the ability to put forward a logical and reasonable conclusion based on receiving a limited amount of information. Also, they should be able to detect weakness in the opposition's case or argument.
