Recently I was asked what makes a good lawyer, and what separates the outstanding and amazing lawyers from the crowd.  After analyzing this question, asking some friends and lawyers for their opinions I have constructed a list of assessing the excellence of these individuals.

An excellent lawyer may not be rich, they probably will not have the reputation of being a sharp practitioner  and may even have a moral reputation.  To survive in a tough environment where success is generally the only medium for measuring success, some of the qualities all amazing lawyers possess are:

1. Creativity
2. Perseverance
3. Excellent Communication Skills
4. Logical Thinking Skills
5. Always delivers value for money
6. Champions the interests of the client
7. Always Acts in accordance with their duty to the court
8. Is Reliable and Consistent
9. Has an excellent knowledge of the law
10. Accepts their own weaknesses and asks help from others.

Note that knowledge of the law is only a tenth of these qualities.  I find it intriguing that law school spends at least ninety percent % of its time honing legal skills and neglects fostering the majority of these traits.

Now you are aware of what makes an amazing lawyer, I will contrast this in my next post; exposing the traits of financially successful but ethically dubious lawyers.  The sorts of attorney that sound attractive but whose only interests they serve are their own.