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Attorney skills: what to learn first, and what can wait

Law school teaches you to spot issues, but firms hire you for what you can produce on a Tuesday afternoon with a deadline at five. The skills below are sorted by when they start to matter. Get the first group solid before you worry about the last one.

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Step one

Gets you the interview

Legal research on Westlaw or LexisYou'll be handed a question with no context and expected to come back with controlling authority. Knowing how to use headnotes, KeyCite or Shepard's, and secondary sources to get your bearings fast is what separates a useful junior from one who needs rescuing.

A tight writing sampleHiring partners read it before they read your résumé closely. A short memo or brief section with a clear question presented, a direct answer up top and clean citations says more than any line about being detail-oriented.

Bluebook citation without looking it up every timeSloppy cites tell a supervising attorney they'll have to check everything you write. Short forms, signals and parentheticals should come naturally.

Word with track changes, styles and comparison toolsEvery draft goes through several hands. If you can't run a clean redline, fix broken numbering or compare two versions in a tool like Litera, you'll lose hours.

Step two

Gets you the offer

Discovery or diligence, depending on your side of the houseLitigators should be able to draft interrogatories and document requests and work inside a review platform like Relativity. Transactional lawyers should be able to run a diligence checklist and turn a data room into a short issues list the partner can actually use.

Contract drafting and markupInterviews often include a practical question about a clause you'd push back on. Knowing how indemnities, limitation of liability and termination rights fit together shows you can protect a client, not just describe the law.

Writing a client email a non-lawyer can act onClients skim. The lawyers who get staffed again lead with the answer, give the risk in plain words and end with what the client needs to decide.

Tracking your time and deadlines accuratelyFirms run on billing software like Clio or Aderant and on docketing calendars. A missed court deadline can become a malpractice claim, so careful habits here matter more than they sound.

Step three

Gets you promoted

Running a matter from intake to closeSenior associates are trusted to scope the work, staff it, set the budget and keep the client updated without a partner hovering.

Taking depositions or leading negotiationsThis is where your judgment is on display in real time. Partners watch who can hold a line, get the admission they need or close a gap on a deal point without giving away the store.

Deep command of one practice areaGeneralists get work handed to them. Specialists get work sent to them by name, whether it's ERISA plans, trademark prosecution or commercial leasing, and that's what builds a book.

Business developmentIt's the skill nobody teaches and the one that decides partnership. Writing client alerts, speaking at bar association events and staying in touch with classmates who went in-house all turn into referrals over time.

Certificates worth your time

Certificate	Best for	Effort	Worth it?
Bar admission in your state	Anyone who wants to practice law and give legal advice	Law school, then a few months of full-time bar prep	Not optional. Without it you can't hold yourself out as an attorney, and the exam, ethics test and character review differ by state.
CIPP/US from the IAPP	Lawyers moving into privacy, data protection or tech-company in-house roles	A few weekends of study	Worth it if privacy is your lane. In-house postings in that area often ask for it by name, and it shows you know the frameworks beyond case law.
Board certification in a specialty	Mid-career lawyers in areas like family, criminal or trial practice who want to signal depth	Several years of practice plus an exam and peer references	Useful for marketing to clients, less so for getting hired. Only some states offer it and the programs vary, so check what your bar recognizes.

Licensing and certification rules change and differ by state, so confirm the details with your state bar or the certifying organization before you commit.

Put it on your résumé like this

Weak

Assisted with litigation matters and conducted legal research.

Strong

Drafted 6 summary judgment briefs in commercial contract disputes, 4 granted in full; took 12 fact depositions and managed a 3-person review team in Relativity.

Questions people ask

Which skills matter most for a first-year associate?

Research and writing, by a wide margin. Partners will forgive not knowing the substantive law yet. They won't forgive a memo that buries the answer or a brief with cites they have to fix. Get fast and accurate at both, and the rest gets taught on the job.

Do attorneys need to learn legal tech or AI tools?

You don't need to code, but you should be comfortable with e-discovery platforms, document comparison tools and whatever AI research features your firm licenses. The catch is that you're responsible for every cite you file, so treat any generated research as a lead to verify, never a finished answer.

Is it worth getting a certificate before you're licensed?

Usually not. Before bar admission, a certificate rarely changes a hiring decision. The exception is privacy, where a credential like CIPP/US can help a new lawyer or a career changer get noticed for in-house roles.

How do you get better at business development early?

Start small and keep it up. Write short updates on changes in your practice area, keep in touch with law school classmates and former clients, and say yes to bar association panels. None of it pays off quickly, which is why starting early matters.

Got step one? Start applying. HeroApply matches you to roles that fit.

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