Some Things You Didn’t Learn in Law School

If there’s one thing most lawyers agree on, it’s that law school taught them very little about actually practicing law and running a law firm.

In fact, there’s a growing debate amongst lawyers these days about the importance of teaching practical skills in law school. That this debate is occurring is a promising sign since the first step to fixing a problem is to acknowledge it. The next step, of course, is to identify the practical knowledge that law schools are failing to teach their graduates and then arm newly graduated lawyers with the resources and knowledge needed to fill in the gaps.

So what exactly are the skills that law schools are failing to teach? I would suggest that, more often than not, most new graduates lack the law practice management skills necessary for sustaining a profitable, busy law practice in the long run.

Things you didn't learn in law school

• Back office accounting
• How to track and bill time ethically & effectively
• Managing employees
• The importance of networking
• The importance of mentors
• How to effectively communicate with clients
• Choosing the right law firm technology for your firm
• How to run law office in cost-effective, efficient manner using emerging technologies
• Marketing your law practice (without adverts)
• How to be a rainmaker

Now that we've identified the knowledge gaps, let’s take the next step. Starting next week, We'll examine each of these skills in turn over the next few months in series of blog posts. In each post, you'll learn why a particular skill is important and We'll suggest resources and information for lawyers seeking to increase their knowledge about that skill.