Career Talk

February 2007 Issue

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Resolve to Acquire New Skills in the New Year

For legal administrators who have developed multiple competencies over the years, acquiring additional skills may not be a top priority when making New Year’s resolutions. But given the rate of change occurring in the legal field, seasoned professionals can’t afford to stand still.

In a survey commissioned by our company, nearly one-third of respondents said if they were to make a career-related resolution, it would be to learn a new skill. In order to reach their full potential and make meaningful contributions to their current firms, administrators must continually develop their professional competencies. This month’s column identifies key areas in which legal administrators can broaden and enhance their abilities.

• Formal training and continuing education

Legal administrators wear many hats; it’s simply the nature of the job. Keeping abreast in areas ranging from human resources and finance to facilities management, crisis planning and business modeling are critical to administrators’ effectiveness and marketability. Seminars and online learning are among the best ways for busy professionals to keep up.

And credentials count: The demand for legal managers with advanced degrees or certifications, such as a master of business administration, certified professional accountant or certified legal manager, has increased. Even administrators who already hold designations can find new ways to increase their knowledge. Technical proficiency, for example, is one skill set that can never be considered fully mastered. While an administrator may not have to head up an information technology system conversion alone, an understanding of the process is vital in order to hire the appropriate vendors or, in larger firms, act as a liaison between the technology department and the rest of the staff.

• Become a more skillful manager

The most effective legal managers clearly communicate their expectations and objectives. They provide their legal support, and other professional and administrative staff with the information and resources necessary to succeed, and trust their teams’ ability to accomplish the job at hand.

The ability to communicate, delegate, mediate, organize and motivate a large array of teams is developed over time and must be constantly refined. It’s a process that never ends, and there are always emerging techniques and new management approaches to learn and adopt.

• Upgrade performance

In many ways, legal administrators set the standard for their staff in terms of job performance. Rather than presenting employees with a list of goals, the most effective administrators lead by example, modeling the behaviors they want to see.

Legal managers should examine their own attitudes and approaches, with an eye toward weeding out work habits that inhibit productivity and efficiency. Even something as simple as resolving to begin and end staff meetings on schedule might enable the entire team to better manage their time and priorities. Consistently meeting deadlines, quickly resolving conflicts, and providing timely support and guidance are other ways administrators can improve their individual and teams performance.

In an increasingly competitive job market, it’s imperative that legal administrators broaden their skill sets if they expect to remain engaged in their current jobs and marketable when they seek new positions. By setting continuous learning goals and acquiring new skills in the new year, administrators will ensure that their careers are on track and keeping pace with developments in the profession.

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