Skilling me softly

There was a party at a leading barristers’ set earlier this year, to which a junior member of chambers brought a friend who aspired to be a barrister. The friend was introduced to a senior member of chambers whom, it soon became evident, was fairly drunk. ‘I wouldn’t bother applying for pupillage,’ he said. ‘I don’t look at anyone who doesn’t have a first from Oxford.’

‘I didn’t know what to say,’ the friend, who has now secured pupillage at another set, recalls. ‘I just stood there and looked at him.’

‘Oh,’ the QC said after a pause. ‘That’s what you’ve got, isn’t it.’

Good and bad at law

The QC in question is, in many respects, a very good lawyer – a knowledgeable and skilled advocate, whose advice comes at a premium. But as we consider that encounter, there are clearly skills he lacks. His personal presentation is poor, he fails to form a connection, he does not attempt emotional intelligence and, insofar as his chambers tries to present itself as a forward-looking outfit, he falls short on collaboration with the work of his fellow members.

This QC lacks ‘soft skills’, and he is not alone.

While the pace of technological change in law through automation and artificial intelligence is widely discussed, less attention has been paid to changes in the soft skills required to be a professional. In fact, there is an argument that tech’s developing and expanding function in the delivery of legal services has increased the importance of developing soft skills, and many law firms have responded by paying these skills more attention.

As former Law Society president Christina Blacklaws puts it: ‘A bit like our colleagues in the medical profession, 20 years ago “soft skills” were not seen as important. Now, as competition has gathered pace and technology is doing some of the heavy lifting, it is essential that solicitors have a deep understanding of human nature and behaviours, and are adept at communication and relationship-building.’

Historically poor

Pinsent Masons partner Matthew Kay, managing director of the firm’s Vario offering, tells the Gazette: ‘Attitudes have changed and emotional intelligence is considered alongside technical legal skills more and more often, with training offered to help develop these attributes. Arguably, the focus on soft skills in law has evolved alongside, and at a similar pace, to technological change.’

One effect of developing technology in the law has been to push soft skills up the agenda for firms. ‘Before lawyers could communicate through screens and enlist the help of software to assist with legal work, there was far less distinction between the soft and technical skills, which were all just classed as part of the job,’ Kay explains. ‘With innovations like artificial intelligence increasingly important to some aspects of legal work, more and more lawyers are having to think about how to engage and build relationships with clients – especially when these human connections remain a consistent reason why clients choose their lawyers.’

'Arguably, the focus on soft skills in law has evolved alongside, and at a similar pace, to technological change'

Matthew Kay, Pinsent Masons

Within firms, the importance of technology, and the need for lawyers to match their clients’ use of technology at every level, have also augmented the roles of the colleagues and suppliers needed to enable this. So as well as improving their soft skills to deal with clients, they must also be better at working with the non-lawyers who support their engagement and their work.

Donna Hart, director of the Family Law Company, explains: ‘It seems to be the businesses who have embraced non-traditional routes to law that have truly recognised the importance of non-technical skills.’ In this context, she adds, ‘leveraging previous careers such as the armed forces or tech roles [can be used] to spark innovation’.

Skills list

There is of course nothing ‘soft’ about the list of non-technical skills that must be developed to succeed in this developing business and professional context. These include emotional intelligence and empathy; resilience; commerciality; presentation; active listening; communication skills; the ability to form a connection with others; use of social media; collaboration; networking; and self-care.

Most of these have always been important, but they have gained in recognition and, in some cases, changed.

'It seems to be the businesses who have embraced non-traditional routes to law that have truly recognised the importance of non-technical skills'

Donna Hart, Family Law Company

As Rachel Buckley, joint managing director at The Family Law Company, explains: ‘The legal industry is arguably more competitive than ever, and whether you work in an emotionally challenging role like family law – or are configuring corporate contracts for a top-100 firm – there are expectations on us to play a part in driving new business, retaining and growing current clients while supporting both our own and our colleagues’ wellbeing. All are soft skills that weren’t traditionally taught.’

Presentation

‘I think one soft skill which remains as important as ever, but where the manifestation of it has changed, is how you present yourself,’ Wedlake Bell partner Suzanne Gill suggests. ‘Do you look like a lawyer? As far as I can tell the world has moved beyond the stage where you need to be a middle-aged, middle-class white man to look like a lawyer, and hurrah for that. But you do still need to look like you actually believe in the advice you’re giving.’   

She recalls: ‘On the first day of my training contract I was informed very firmly that it was not appropriate to wear shorts to work. This is advice I have followed faithfully ever since.’ (Tailored shorts for women had been ‘quite the thing the year before’ and a previous trainee ‘had had to be told’, Gill says). ‘It remains the case that the suggestions given by fashion columnists on what to wear for work are always a bit more edgy than advisable dress for a commercial law firm. Even the Financial Times gets it wrong.’

Getting these things right is important with a significant proportion of client contact moving to online platforms. In April 2020, during the pandemic’s first UK lockdown, the Gazette reported on the first ‘Skype trial’. The feeling of some lay participants was that ‘the reduced formality, noises from pets and the backdrops of people’s homes’ added to the ‘distress’ of the proceedings. Lawyers may not mind online informalities, but some clients do.

Technology has increased the intimacy of some encounters – in which context, presentation and delivering those elements of formality that have an important role, require close attention. How can an encounter between clients and legal professionals be both ‘human’ and endowed with the dignity it merits?

Empathy

The appearance, then, of a casual approach gets a thumbs down – at least for outward-facing encounters. Instead, says Alice Donzelot, senior associate at Stevens & Bolton, clients respond well to ‘a lawyer who is not a robot, but rather someone that can demonstrate empathy and emotional intelligence, especially when a client is seeking advice and support in a stressful situation. The need to stand out from other law firms in a saturated market has been a contributor to this, and the pandemic has also certainly sped this along.

‘The reality is that soft skills are now often valued just as much as technical skills, with fostering communication and empathy in our client relations key to retaining and growing these relationships in the long-term. The rise in hybrid working since the pandemic began has allowed both clients and lawyers to be seen as more human, and people have responded well to that.’

And it is not just technology, helped along by the exceptional demands of the pandemic, that has increased demand for these skills. Melinda Giles, Law Society Council member and head of private client at Giles Wilson, says changes in the law have helped.

'The rise in hybrid working since the pandemic began has allowed both clients and lawyers to be seen as more human, and people have responded well to that'

Alice Donzelot, Stevens & Bolton

'The Mental Capacity Act is less than 20 years old,’ Giles explains. ‘This introduced a framework for dealing with vulnerable clients and so there is increased communication in this field – learning and developing skills to enable communication with those whose communication is impaired.’ This means ‘facilitating such interviews, using techniques to support such clients to understand and then to be able to explain their understanding, rather than expecting the clients themselves to fit into a traditional “one size fits all”.

‘I find it helps to empathise, even refer to my own personal situation, if it helps the client to trust you and/or to feel supported.’

Networks and collaboration

‘When I first went in-house,’ Matthew Gingell, general counsel at Oxygen House, recalls, ‘I used to think that networking and collaborating were not necessary – an outmoded chore of private practice that I had escaped. I was an island of righteous self-confidence and arrogance. I declined every event invite.

‘I was wrong! I now know that network and collaboration are the key to personal growth, influence and sustained positive change.’ In particular he has learned to prize in-person contact for this purpose – ‘the serendipity and generosity of peer conversation, that is only found at in-person events.’

'I find it helps to empathise, even refer to my own personal situation, if it helps the client to trust you and/or to feel supported'

Melinda Giles, Giles Wilson

And for Gingell, there is serious purpose to what that can achieve. He is an active participant in environmental body the Chancery Lane Project, promoting the ‘doctrine’ of climate contracting, which he says grew from such contact. ‘For me, the soft skills of legal networking and communicating for influence have been far more disruptive than technology ever has,’ he concludes.  

Management

There is a more consistent approach to management and supervision in law firms, and an infrastructure of professional support, training and services has grown up around that recognition.

‘Supervision skills have changed for the better,’ says Gill. ‘The larger firms have professional learning and development managers, mentoring programmes and proper appraisals with structured promotion programmes.’  

Recalling a more slapdash era, Gill says: ‘I was promoted to “senior” associate on a building site outside Reading, when the round of introductions from all the lawyers involved on a development project meant my supervising partner felt the need to describe me as more experienced than I had been the day before. Nowadays people know what they need to show they can do to get to the next rung on the ladder, and the dates that will happen, and quite often are trained in the skills needed to progress.’

‘Developing these skills beyond one-off training sessions is key,’ Hart says. ‘For example, our mentoring programme has been a great success, regularly coaching, challenging and growing colleagues’ confidence in using these skills.’

Communication

‘Communication must be adaptable to clients’ and colleagues’ needs,’ says Paul Bennett, partner at Bennett Briegal, a specialist adviser to law firms. ‘Written work and oral advice must be delivered in a way in which clients or colleagues can use the material practically. Law lectures are the preserve of universities and poor practitioners… In every case we look at the client’s preferred options and work to that, within reason.’  

Communication should ‘be simple and memorable, rather than flashy’, he says. ‘Talking over the issues helps before sending anything by email,’ he adds, as it saves on writing time. Written communications then become more focused.

Buckley says: ‘Over the last decade there has been a drive to ensure law firms are client-centric and transparent, which has led to communication skills being added to the agenda. The pandemic drove this even further.’

The context of communication has also changed. Remote and hybrid working have meant that even those who were effective communicators before the pandemic have had to adapt those skills to maintain their effectiveness in the new terrain.

Simeon Spencer, senior partner of Spencer West, explains: ‘We have embraced technology to allow for more virtual meetings, less commuting and a better work/life balance. Our partners have had to develop their interpersonal and communication skills to ensure that they don’t lose the ability to communicate effectively with peers, colleagues and clients.’

Spencer is one of several interviewees who stresses the importance of communication being seen as more than broadcasting to clients and colleagues. It is ‘vitally important that lawyers develop their ability to actively listen’, he says, thereby showing others that they are ‘a respectful and valuable legal colleague’.

‘Marketing and business development skills have developed tremendously since it became legal for law firms to market their services,’ Gill observes. ‘We don’t all need Nick Freeman’s personal brand of [being] “Mr Loophole”, but we should really be able to say something which distinguishes us from our competitors.’

On an individual level, she continues, ‘lawyers are expected to maintain a professional presence on social media as well as networking in person, all to reinforce business development. Your client base, and your ambitions for your future client base, will determine whether this is LinkedIn, TikTok or somewhere in between. Do you sponsor the local rugby club juniors, or a conference hosted by the FT? Or even cycle round Europe with pedELLE, for women in real estate.

‘This can all seem a bit much,’ Gill admits, ‘but I remember the days when the only way to win commercial property work seemed to involve an awful lot of alcohol with commercial estate agents. I’m very pleased that “thought leadership” and other routes to clients are now a possibility.’

Commercial sense

‘Commerciality is the soft skill which has had the biggest impact in my own career to date,’ Bennett says. ‘I was fortunate to be involved in business before becoming a solicitor and therefore thinking of the client’s needs, the margin on a piece of work when quoting for it and displaying the commercial logic of an approach to clients in contentious and non-contentious work is second nature.’

In the past, he says, he had to ‘ask colleagues to consider the client’s commercial aims, to clarify and confirm this and then to advise with those aims front and centre in every email, telephone call or document delivered.

‘Starting from a commercial angle does not change the legal advice,’ Bennett concludes, ‘but it should make the advice more tailored and relevant to the client. If you add commercial value you will find clients use you more and more.’

In the round

No one contacted by the Gazette thought that soft skills were new to law. Throughout their careers they have encountered professionals who personify excellence in empathy, communication, and commercial sense, who have been good listeners and managers, and used their network and connections to good effect.

But they have also encountered too many colleagues who got by on legal knowledge alone, and note that leaders placed a lower value on soft skills than they must do now. Perhaps surprisingly, it is the growing use of technology in law that has forced law firms and in-house legal teams to pay closer attention to improving soft skills.

As Donzelot concludes: ‘There is a real sense that soft skills such as empathetic communication and emotional intelligence are becoming valued to the same degree as technical skills, not just from the point of view of winning and retaining clients, but also in better understanding and supporting colleagues’ experiences and the benefits that this may bring to the firm.’