Skills
Lawyer Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in lawyers, and how to build and show them.
What skills do lawyers need?
Lawyers need technical skills such as legal research, legal writing, and negotiation, plus people skills like persuasion and critical thinking. They also use tools such as Westlaw or Lexis and Document management systems.
Technical (hard) skills
- Legal research
- Legal writing
- Negotiation
- Litigation
- Contract drafting
- Case management
People (soft) skills
- Persuasion
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Integrity
Tools, equipment and technology
- Westlaw or Lexis
- Document management systems
- Practice management software
- E-filing systems
- E-discovery tools
- Microsoft Word
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how lawyers put their skills to work:
- How to research a legal question
- How to prepare a witness for a deposition
- How to draft a clear business contract
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Legal research” and “Legal writing.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “persuasion,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as State bar admission near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our lawyer glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Lawyer training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.