A litigator is another term for a civil attorney, or simply a client’s hired lawyer if he or she wants to file a civil lawsuit in the law court. An appeal might emerge in various law firms and usually has to do with relationships, property, or money. A civil lawyer’s types of cases may specialize in business, personal injury, employment, immigration, real estate, landlord/housing, and family. They are the ones who work with different types of clients, businesses, organizations, and government institutions to help them solve legal disagreements and affairs.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD CIVIL LAWYER
To have a successful case, the client’s relationship with their attorney is important. It’s essential to know some qualities that will help us understand what makes an excellent civil lawyer.
1. EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION SKILLS
They must know how to communicate. Having excellent communication skills sets them apart from the rest. Attorneys must have good verbal communication skills, but also non-verbal skills, pertaining to their written skills. Another thing is that they should be a good listener. Speaking and listening are like two peas in a pod. It is said that you shouldn’t be only good at speaking but listening as well. To have a good argument in the court of justice, excellent public speaking skills are a must.
Participating in school activities like public speaking, debates, and speech can help develop their communication skills, specifically speaking. Writing essays, research papers, and argumentative writing could be the best method to enhance it.
2. RESEARCH SKILLS
This is one of the essential qualities that makes a good lawyer. It is vital that they understand their clients’ needs, including their issues, and preparing legal plans to resolve them. Getting a vast amount of information, comprehending it, and filtering it out so it’ll be useful and easier to manage, is required to prepare legal strategies.
Gathering and absorbing that information is necessary while researching. Having an exceptional research skill is a precedence to win a case.
3. PERSEVERANCE
This is the tenacity in doing something despite hardships, difficulties, and challenges in achieving success. Working on a case could be a long and rough road. Facing a lot of problems that may arise in the process can be extremely stressful. However, one must have perseverance from start to finish, leading the case into a successful one.
As the litigator helps the clients with their claims, they will need time and effort to work towards success. Problems and issues might emerge with the case but also with the client (see examples here). Working with someone could also be a challenging part for lawyers because of the differences and disagreement. That’s why having perseverance and extra patient is needed to have a desirable result.
Studying law needs a significant amount of commitment, persistence, and it takes a lot of time. However, working as a lawyer needs twice or even thrice of it. This quality is what truly makes them an excellent litigator.
4. GOOD PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
Good problem-solving skills are needed when working on a case. The creativity to think logically and analytically to solve the problem of your client is essential. Solving a problem is not an easy task to do. Usually, the most desirable solution is not always the most straightforward in outflanking your opponent.
As for most cases, problem-solving takes a lot of time if you don’t understand or absorb the problem. Going through the roots of the problem and being able to think outside of the box is vital. That’s why this specific quality is a good one because they will surely make a resolution that will be best for both parties, more on the client. Creative thinking is necessary to solve a case successfully.
5. SOCIAL SKILLS
As lawyers, they’ll be working with different people, as their representative, and make decisions that will affect other people’s lives. The ability to connect with clients and the people involved in that case is a great thing. They must be persuasive, agreeable, and skilled at reading others. This will allow them to determine the judges’ reaction, the honesty of the evidence, and the people present at the court law.
It’ll be advantageous for them to gauge the desired outcome of the case. This will prove how effective they are as civil lawyers and how good they are at their job. Social skills are as critical as communication skills as they’re both important qualities needed while working in the law industry.
TO SUM IT UP,
A lawyer helps an organization, person, business, or even government institution resolve legal issues. All of these qualities are what makes a civil lawyer a good one. The important thing is their commitment to helping their client solve the problem successfully. Communication is a key to that and having the tenacity to work through all the possible challenges that may appear.