When it comes to being a lawyer there are two types, there are those who strive daily for success, taking on every case, working day and night to win them and there are those that show promise and then look for an easy life. If you wish to be not only a lawyer, but a great lawyer then there are certain attributes that you need to have and a certain career path that you need to follow. Today we are gong to take a look at what it takes to become a top lawyer and achieve success in the industry.

Go to a Great Law School

The majority of the United State’s best lawyers come from just a handful of schools, these school pride themselves on excellence and accept only the best candidates. If you want to go to Harvard, Stanford, Yale or even follow the route of JD Dukes at Duke University then you are going to need to be pretty special. These law schools only accept the creme de la creme when it comes to candidates and you will need a GPA score of over 3.8 as well as being able to display that you not only have what it takes to be a successful lawyer but that you have worked hard and gained experience in the industry prior to your application.

Being An Argument Specialist

Being a great lawyer is also being an outstanding arguer, you should be able to look at arguments from all sides, making sure that your argument is water tight and that you are fully prepared for what the opposition plans to argue against you. Your role is to convince the jury that they should agree with your argument and in order to do this you not only need to have a solid case, but also be able to present it in a way that convinces the jury that you are right using a variety of techniques. The best lawyers have this attribute in-built and you are going to need to have it too if you want to be a successful lawyer.

Being a Great Reader

Reading is vital both when you are studying for your law degree and when you are working as a lawyer, you are going to be reading thousands of documents daily and you need to be able to pick out key points and absorb a lot of information at speed. You can work on this part of your character and improve your reading ability through practice.

Take Every Case That’s Available

Great lawyers are the ones with a wealth of experience and in the early days of your career you should take on any case that is available to get your name out there and to grow your knowledge of the industry. Once established you can pick and choose your cases to maintain your reputation but in the beginning you need to work hard on building it.