Common Mistakes Attorneys Make Early on in Their Careers

By Staff Reporter Jul 25, 2022 01:48 PM EDT

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash — (Photo : Kenny Eliason on Unsplash)

Ideally, you'll never make a mistake as a lawyer. As much as you might want that, the reality is you won't be able to make good on that promise.

At some point, you'll make a mistake, but you can reduce the chances of making mistakes if you know what to anticipate. The following are some common mistakes made by attorneys that can be avoided.

Forgetting About Clients

One important thing to remember is that the client is the only thing that matters. This is true for every client that comes in.

Attorneys can make the mistake of thinking their firm, reputation, or careers are most important. While these things do matter, they don't matter more than your client. If you forget this, you'll start losing clients because people talk. You have to do what's best for your clients at all times.

Failing to Look Ahead

Just because you're doing well now, doesn't mean you'll be doing well forever. A lot of attorneys, especially the good ones, forget to look ahead if they're getting paid well. This is a great career, and the potential of making a lot of cash is always there.

Folks forget that as they age all sorts of things could happen, including becoming disabled. Unless you saved a lot of money, issues that arise could hurt you. It'll be challenging to make money and support yourself at that point. so don't forget to do things like purchase disability insurance or any other type of insurance you think you might need.

Lack of Respect

You should never overlook the important work done by those who work for you. After putting in so much work to become a lawyer, sometimes, people forget to be respectful. A lawyer's practice doesn't get too far if the workers don't support it.

Everyone, from the paralegals to the secretaries, should respect the boss and want the boss to succeed. These are the folks your clients will interact with. You want them singing your praises rather than telling folks to go somewhere else. First impressions do matter; don't forget that.

Not Validating Information

Attorneys are spoiled by the internet and for good reason. The internet makes research much easier. You can find laws and cases online pretty easily. The problem is that some lawyers get a little too dependent on the information they find online.

Don't allow yourself to use the information you find online without making sure that it's correct. You're going to have to dig deeper, and validate the information that you found. Once it's validated, you can use it. If you fail to do this, you won't only wrong your client, but you might easily be beaten by your fellow attorney.

Abusing the Charge

When you finally get a client, it can be overwhelming and exciting. As a new lawyer, this could also mean that this is one of your first paying jobs. This could make you feel like you might want to milk this client and get as much as you can from them.

That's a mistake you don't want to make, no matter how badly you'd like to. Don't charge your client for time spent running a personal errand. Don't charge your client for unnecessary travel expenses or anything like that. Even if you don't get caught, at some point, you will. That's a good way to lose clients and run your business into the ground.

Failing to Print Cards

Some lawyers question the importance of business cards. Lawyers are doing so well online; they've got social media platforms to connect with potential clients and much more. Since you got so much else going on, it's easy to think that you don't need business cards.

That's not true. You never know when you might need to offer one. Business cards are still very important, and they help you look more professional. You can modernize your card and add a QR code that'll give your clients more information on your practice when they scan it, or maybe it'll redirect them to your site.

Not Saving Enough

If you grew up looking at lawyers on television or in movies, you might have this idea that jobs will be coming your way all day. This isn't the case. Sure, if you become well known, more jobs may come your way, but positive outcomes aren't guaranteed.

When you finally get a payday, it's important to remember that the next payday might not come for a long time. As a blossoming lawyer, it's important to get used to saving much of the money you make to make sure you can live on that until you get paid again. New lawyers tend to overspend, and you don't want to do that to yourself.

Now, you know common mistakes lawyers tend to make, and knowing them should help you prevent them. Some have to do with clients, while others are about your career in general. You don't need more problems; this career comes with enough challenges.