Students graduating at the top of their law class are likely to find more doors open to them than most. But taking advantage of those opportunities may be easier said than done if they haven’t expanded their horizons. And no, it’s not just about working on interpersonal skills—though those certainly help. In today’s market, attorneys need to be holistic problem solvers capable of meeting a client’s needs beyond just giving them legal advice. And in many cases, that means knowing how and when to leverage technology.
“There are just certain aspects of tech use that if you can’t do them, it’s almost a nonstarter,” says Daniel Maland, partner at Mark Migdal & Hayden. But to be sure, law firms and legal departments aren’t just looking for candidates with exposure to particular platforms. What’s more important, many say, is whether a new hire has kept up with the latest innovations, understands their impact on the legal industry and is open to deploying and even designing new solutions when the situation calls for it.
