Survey reveals the 10 most important soft skills for a successful law career

Effective communication, attention to detail, emotional intelligence, and collaboration are reshaping the modern legal landscape, fostering client relations, and propelling career growth.

Business Name Generator’s The Future of Soft Skills in the Workplace study surveyed over 1,000 lawyers to find out the skills employees and businesses value most.

Key takeaways

• The most important soft skill, according to legal professionals, is attention to detail
• 84% of employees and managers believe new employees must possess soft skills and demonstrate this in the hiring process
• The most valuable soft skill according to c- level executives and senior managers is creativity.
• The most valuable skill for advancing in your career is leadership.
• 48% of companies are looking to expand on existing skill sets.

What are the most important soft skills for a career in the legal sector?

Attention to detail took the top spot within this industry with over 1 in 4 professionals agreeing; the skill being an essential legal proficiency, and playing a central role in work within this sector. 

A single misplaced word has the potential to alter the interpretation of a clause or contract, and emails, letters, or documents with misspellings or grammatical errors can create a negative impression on clients. 

Problem-solving skills followed closely behind with 22%, and also placing within the top three was time management (21%). 

What are the most important skills for existing employees to advance in their careers?

As employees advance up the career ladder, the demand for certain skills changes. The skill most respondents identified as essential for an existing employee to demonstrate to advance in their career was leadership (21%). However, only 14% of respondents thought this skill was very important for new joiners. Therefore, the skills demanded of employees change throughout their careers.

Katrina Haggarty, spokesperson from Business Name Generator, says: “The introduction of new technologies like AI has catalyzed the shift in demand for specific skills, requiring employees to deepen their existing skill sets or acquire new ones. Many of these will be soft skills, the personal attributes and non-technical skills that describe how people work and interact with others. 

“Law firms are looking to recruit staff with in-demand skills to ensure they address their changing business needs. We discovered that, despite challenging economic times over the past few years, 70% of companies are still actively looking to hire new employees and almost half are looking to expand skill sets, so there’s a strong incentive for prospective employees and jobseekers to upskill.

“Even though there is talk of AI and automation taking over jobs, the study goes to show that human skills are still invaluable in the eyes of employers.”