To Grow to Be a Successful Lawyer: Verbal Communication Skills and the Ability to Communicate Internally
My last blog entry was about the importance of a lawyer’s communication with clients. This time I will discuss internal communication – lawyers’ communications within their own colleagues.
Interoffice communication is important for lawyers for three reasons. First, lawyers in the same office should be able to rely on each other as resources, and to share ideas, legal approaches, and strategies. Second, lawyers need to work as a team to help each other with cases, court appearances, and workload. Third, lawyers need to be able to give coherent instructions to staff to obtain the clerical and administrative help that they need. And for each of these three goals, lawyers need to be able to communicate clearly.
Sometimes we may be certain in our own heads what we want to do, and how to do it, but we need to remember that other people are not mind readers. We need to be clear about what we are saying, what we are explaining, and what we are asking.
Have you ever tried the exercise in which you are told to explain to someone how to chew gum? The idea is that the person you are speaking to has never seen chewing gum and you must explain how to open the package and get the gum and chew it. Try it now. Think through the steps and write them down. Then get a pack of gum and call for a volunteer to act out your instructions. Invariably you will have forgotten to tell the person an important step. You may have assumed that the step was obvious, or you are just so used to doing it yourself that you take steps for granted and don’t realize that they must be explained. Sometimes I am so certain of what needs to be done that I don’t stop to think that I’m going too fast or skipping steps for others who don’t know the idea yet. And I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
In addition to clarity, other important parts of interoffice communication are patience and respect. I’ve learned that younger lawyers and inexperienced staff, in particular, may feel embarrassed to admit that they don’t understand. We need to foster an atmosphere that allows everyone to feel free to speak. Young lawyers should ask questions, because asking questions is part of the learning process.
When I give advice or make a correction, I try to do so in a respectful manner that helps the lawyer or staff member grow and improve. Being harsh or rude is counter-productive and also destroys the collegial spirit that can help a firm succeed. I hope I am succeeding at this, but still learning.
Finally, communication includes having a process for keeping everyone current on the status of matters in the office, whether involving administrative matters or client matters. Of course this is a far less daunting in a small law office. But no matter the size, we need to have a method set up to assure that we keep everyone “up to speed”. For example, a friend of mine in a big firm uses a weekly newsletter, while in my firm we have regular meetings. The meetings don’t have to be long; just a quick check-in can sometimes work.
Do any of you have any ideas on how to keep the communication in a law firm flowing? Please add your comments, ideas, impressions, and information to this blog, so we can create a place for lawyers who are interested in exchanging ideas and learning new things.
