What qualities will lawyers need to succeed at all career stages in the mid-21st Century? The Brief asks a range of experts and legal leaders

The rapidly changing regulatory, political and commercial climate means the need for legal services has probably never been greater, BCL writes. However, the rise of AI has both encouraged clients to take a “DIY” approach to meeting their basic legal requirements and seen law firms automate many of the routine, labour-intensive tasks on which junior lawyers have historically cut their teeth.

The profession is tying itself in knots over AI at the moment but Patrick McCann, chief executive of the City of London Law Society, injects some perspective by identifying attributes that are as old as the profession itself.

He says, “Early on, what sets a lawyer apart is curiosity, accuracy and the drive to master the fundamentals - alongside the personal organisation and resilience to keep delivering when the work piles up. Fluency with new tools, including AI, increasingly sits in this foundation too.

“As you progress, the emphasis shifts from doing the work to judging it: commercial awareness, emotional intelligence, and the confidence to lead the people and processes around you. Early on, what sets a lawyer apart is curiosity, accuracy and the drive to master the fundamentals". 

Patrick adds, "by partnership, the centre of gravity moves again – to winning and growing client relationships, deep expertise in a few areas with real breadth across many, and the judgement to lead under pressure.

At the most senior level it becomes sector leadership, building a profitable practice, and developing the people coming up behind you. If I had to name one constant, it would be resilience and the willingness to keep learning. The best lawyers treat commercial judgement, people skills and new tools not as add-ons to legal work, but as part of it.”