Lawyers have existed since ancient times, developing rules in an attempt to maintain peace and order in communities. Today, lawyers can be found all over the world. What does it take to be successful in this demanding field? Some of the qualities top lawyers have include:

• 1. Analytical Skills: A great lawyer has excellent analytical skills and is able to readily make sense of a large volume of information.
• 2. Creativity: A great lawyer is creative and able to think of reasonable solutions when problems and unique situations arise.
• 3. Research Skills: Preparing a legal strategy generally requires an extensive amount of research. Anyone involved in the legal profession should have excellent research skills to be able to find and comprehend pertinent information.
• 4. Interpersonal Skills: Great lawyers and paralegals have excellent interpersonal skills and can develop trusting relationships with everyone they work with.
• 5. Logical Thinking Ability: A great lawyer is able to think logically and make reasonable judgments and assumptions based on information presented.
• 6. Perseverance: Those working in the legal profession must have perseverance. Often, cases require many hours of work with heavy research and lots of writing. A good lawyer or legal assistant must be willing to put in the time it takes to get the job done.
• 7. Public Speaking Skills: A great lawyer has excellent public speaking skills and is comfortable addressing a courtroom. They can also easily handle speaking in front of other groups.
• 8. Pursues Continuing Education: Great lawyers stay on top of developments in the legal field and also pursue continuing training. In fact, 48 states require lawyers to earn continuing education credits annually.
• 9. Reading Comprehension Skills: Lawyers, paralegals, and other legal professionals should have strong reading comprehension skills to easily understand the complex information encountered in legal research and documents.
• 10. Writing Skills: A great lawyer or legal assistant has excellent writing skills which are used in preparing compelling arguments, briefs, motions, and other legal documents.