Non-Lawyering Skills Are Key to Winning the Legal Game

“We Got to Think Differently." -Billie Beane in Moneyball‍

In the movie Moneyball, Billie Beane, a baseball manager with a minimal budget, embraces a data-driven approach to managing the team and changes the management of baseball teams. Just as Billie needed to think differently to change the money game, you need to think differently to become a Powerballer in the legal game.

Law Schools and the profession have programmed attorneys to believe that legal skills will lift them in the legal industry, which is not true. Legal skills are necessary, and without them, you will not make it to first base, but to make a home run (or even a double or triple), you must have excellent non-lawyering skills. That is how you go from the farm team to a Powerballer in the legal profession, giving you more freedom and flexibility.

Here are three of the non-legal skills you need to become a Powerballer:

1: Self -Advocate

Powerballers advocate for and promote themselves. They understand that to be successful, managers, potential clients, and hiring companies need to know their skills and experiences, and these people are not clairvoyant. More importantly, they let people know what it is like to work with them. It is not just about the lawyering skills. It is about the experience of working with them.

Powerballers understand that if they do not create their narrative, someone else will, and it may not be their true story. So through their career documents (LinkedIn, CVs, and bios) and the stories they tell, these lawyers own and project who they are. These lawyers are strategic and intentional in how they position themselves.

When my client, “Jane,” began incorporating who she was and what it would be like to hire her as outside counsel into her profiles and RFP she pitches, her close rate went up. Similarly, my in-house client, “Sadie” got more interviews and opportunities when she worked on and emphasized the non-lawyering skills she brought to the table.

HINT: Actions speak louder than words. Ensure that what you put out there to the world accurately reflects how you interact. You will lose credibility and ground if you say you speak in plain English and write emails filled with legalese.

2: Connect

To succeed in the legal profession, you need to have a strong network that you can leverage. Powerballers know how to connect to people. They have robust networks, build strategic relationships, and help them.

This does not simply mean a large amount of LinkedIn connections. You want contacts who will speak for you in terms of opportunities. For people to do this, they need to know who you are (see Skill 1) and that you are there for them. To create these strong relationships, you must help other people, even when it is murky whether they can assist you. Being there for others deepens relationships and increases the chances that they will be there for you.

When my client “Clare” reframed networking from being there for others rather than trying to squeeze something out of others, she began to enjoy connecting rather than dreading it. She slowly saw her opportunities increase.

BIG HINT: Your time is valuable - use it wisely. Remember to consider what is essential to the other person and how you can help them. Use social media to do light connecting and go to or create events where you can strategically build relationships with more than one person.

3: Influence

Powerballers understand what motivates people to act, not by telling them what to do. They know people will not buy into their real-life advice simply because they were on Law Review at an Ivy League School.

These influential attorneys know how to bring people to their way of thinking by focusing on their objectives and concerns and asking powerful questions. They know how to influence a target into becoming a client. Powerballers galvanize teams by painting visions of the future. They understand that getting the correct result is more important than being viewed as the most intelligent person in the room.

One of my clients, “Meg,” struggled to work effectively with the business, and the business did not want her at the table. They found her too siloed in her thinking, limiting herself to legal theory, not appreciating their objectives, and uncollaborative. All of which did not bode well for Meg and would be an issue wherever she worked. Meg took a fair amount of time and commitment. Still, she could re-vamp how she interacted and influenced others, and doing so changed how the businesspeople viewed her and improved her career trajectory.

You don’t influence people by wowing them with your legal prowess. You do it by understanding what motivates them, focusing on helping them get those results, or showing them why it is impossible.

Developing non-legal Powerballer skills takes time and effort. It just doesn’t happen. People who master these skills do it intentionally. As many of us invested time learning how to do complicated cross-border deals and highly effective appellate briefs, you need to do the same with our soft skills to succeed in the legal game.

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Want more insights?

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