Benjamin Franklin

“Transferable” Skills  (A Real Confidence Builder)

Let’s talk about the skills you already have that would “transfer” to the legal field:

Customer Service

Do you currently work at a fast food restaurant or perhaps a large department store chain where you have to deal with the public every day?  If so, let me show you how this experience brings value to the law firm.

How this skill translates to the legal field:

Greeting and speaking to the customer.  If you’ve learned this skill and used it well in the non-legal environment, you bring a lot of value to the legal field in whatever position you choose to pursue.

Answering the telephone with a positive/upbeat tone in your voice will go a long way with your attorney’s clients.  They will turn to you first because you are a “friendly” voice.

Problem-Solving

Next, if you’ve worked in a field that required that you assist customers in solving problems, this skill will transfer successfully to the legal field, also.  Clients will call on you as the “assistant” “secretary” or “paralegal” for answers to their problems.

For instance, a client may call asking if the information the attorney asked him to gather should include character reference letters from former professors.  You will act as the “go-between” and will ask your attorney this question so that the information can be passed on to the client.  This not only builds a good working relationship with the client but you also learn something new.  In fact, this will more than likely save the client the expense of speaking “directly” to the attorney.

Detail-Oriented

If you work in a fast food restaurant, do you fill your food orders correctly?  Do you pay attention to the details?  Are you covering all the bases with each food order?  For instance, do you check to make sure the order is complete?  Have you provided napkins?  Have you thanked the customer for coming to your restaurant?

The same skills listed above can be transferred to the legal field.  If your attorney dictates a lengthy letter to a client, do you perform both a spell check and proofread, line by line?  This is good “internal” customer service (from you to your attorney).

If your attorney mentions that he is enclosing or attaching a document, do you make a copy of the document and attach it to the letter for review by the attorney?  Go the extra mile in providing good customer service to your attorney.

Organization

Have any of your employers asked you to organize or replenish stock?  Have you ever performed an inventory of the stock?  If you have performed any of these tasks and know the alphabet, you can learn how to file documents properly.  It is simply understanding how to organize and how to do it well.

Software Knowledge

I have a question for you…..what software do you use in your current job?  If you work in the fast food business as I once did, perhaps the answer is “zero”.

If you have no knowledge of word processing at all, simply enroll at your local vo-tech school in a night class or at your local junior college and take a Microsoft Word class.  Or, check to see if your city has an independent business who specializes in computer tutoring. 

Learn Microsoft Word inside out and backwards and see if you can earn a certificate through the school.  Remember, this is the beginning of your journey.

No office experience at all?  Don’t worry.  If you’ve been in a position where you serve the public, you will be very valuable asset in your first position in a law firm.  You already understand how to handle a customer and that brings a lot of value to the firm.

I hope I have been able in some small way to show you that you already have some of the skills necessary to succeed in the legal field whether it be as a legal secretary, legal assistant or paralegal.

I want you to focus on how the above areas relate to you and your current skills.  Do you see how some of the skills you already possess bring value to a law firm?  It’s important that you understand your value so that you can express it clearly in an interview. 

I see your value, now I want you to see it clearly.