To explain: a technician follows the career path set down by the broader law world.

They know how the law works; they are experts in case law; they can successfully appear in court. This is similar to the approach taken by the legal CPD framework. If a lawyer is an excellent legal technician, surely that’s all the skills they need?

A better approach

A more enlightened law firm will see the situation differently, training their lawyers to be successful across the entire range of work a lawyer must do.

That includes:

• Commerciality

Knowing the difference between a commercial improvement to a contract versus demands that are technically correct but unhelpful or unimportant. Understanding how business trends may impact a contract in the future.

• Collaboration

Successfully contributing to multidisciplinary teams to drive outcomes (that is teams with functions other than lawyers in them).

• Coaching

Helping clients (and colleagues) understand complex legal and technical issues.

• Creating change

Improving client workflow so that legal support is not “pulled in at the last minute”.

• Building the firm

Bringing in new clients, or farming additional work from existing clients.

These are skills most lawyers have to learn through experience. They are not mandated as part of appraisals, career ladders or capability frameworks, or trained
or appraised consistently.

And where they are part of a job description, it is at partner level. Not that of junior staff, who would inarguably benefit from an improved understanding of their business and clients.

How to find the right employer

The legal industry is not the only technical field that faces this problem. It is common in engineering, health, manufacturing and more.

Below the executive suite, in any industry where success relies on deep technical knowledge, technical expertise tends to be valued at the expense of commercial capability.

But the most successful people still invariably turn out to have strong commercial and relationship skills. How did they get them?

If these skills are not broadly taught, how are they learned? Did their employer help? If you plan to change jobs, how do you identify an employer who will help you shift from a technical focus to all-round performer?

Ask them: what business skills are formally trained by the organisation, at what level? What training do partners get that’s not available to other staff?

If this training is invariably “selling to clients” and “building networks”, what does this say about the organisation’s attitude to training less senior staff? How do job descriptions change as a lawyer becomes more senior?

Where new skills suddenly appear between one rank of job description and another, what training does the organisation offer to help staff step up to new demands? Is a coaching process formalised, or do you have to “hope you get a good boss”?

Can technical experts with strong business skills succeed?

Must you manage a team to achieve peak seniority, influence and pay?

A focus on attaining and improving commercial skills is a different goal to wanting to become a people manger. Don’t confuse the two, but it says something about priorities if the highest levels of seniority and pay are restricted to people managers.

What do you want?

When choosing a new employer, ask yourself: should it be “just part of the job” that lawyers must struggle to learn business skills, in the same way lawyers “must” work long hours? Or should you pick an employer who wants you to succeed by investing in your long-term career?

Alistair Gordon is the chief executive of Expertunity, an expert coach, speaker and author.