Bottom Feeders Improve Your Legal English Skills

Bottom Feeders are found in every big law firm. But who are the bottom feeders and what do they do?

😱Bottom feeder is a term all lawyers need to become familiar with because if you’re a bottom feeder, now is the time to be proactive and change your status. Your days as a bottom feeder are numbered.

Meaning of  Bottom Feeder

The term bottom feeder is a negative term applied to lawyers who are at the bottom of the food chain. It describes lawyers who have little value or low status, such as junior lawyers and associates. The ones who do all the grunt work on behalf of those higher up the food chain. 🦈🦈

Traditionally bottom feeders have performed all of the boring jobs that more senior lawyers don’t want to do. Or, if they are super intelligent and competent they may be given work by partners who then bill it out as their own at $1000 per hour. This ensures the partners make a handsome profit.

However, this is all changing.

Threats to Bottom Feeders

As AI advances and takes over more and more of the grunt work, the legal workplace will change dramatically. Bottom feeders won’t be needed.👎👎 In the past it has been possible to stay as a bottom feeder and make a reasonable living. This is now changing.

Many lawyers think that AI will never be able to do their job. Unfortunately this is wrong.

As at the end of 2023 here are just three significant impacts.

• Chat GPT 3, created by OpenAI had passed the American bar exam -twice! Proving AI can think like a lawyer and understand the law.
• AI can check contracts faster and more accurately than lawyers.
• A Robo lawyer has been developed by DoNotPay. It was set to make legal history and defend a case in court in February 2023, However, American lawyers got scared and threatened it’s creator with prison if it used the tech.

Just take a moment to think about this. It can pass law exams, vet contracts and defend cases. Do you really think it wont be able to research case law and analyse facts and data to come up with a winning strategy? AI has been beating humans at strategy based games such as chess for decades, analysing cases and formulating the right strategy is going to be child’s play.

In the past it was possible to survive as a bottom feeder.  Bottom feeders were necessary, they did the work of the top lawyers who went out and fished for clients and then farmed out the work to bottom feeders. In the future there won’t be jobs for bottom feeders. AI will fill this role.

Essential Skills For Lawyers

A client of mine who works for a top law firm was selected to attend a “pre selection” event. It was an event where a handful of the best upcoming lawyers in the firm got to meet the Equity partners. They were being assessed for  partnership roles. However, one thing was made very clear to them. Future leaders who could develop relationships and bring in clients were needed. They weren’t looking for the best qualified or the person who stayed longest, this will be irrelevant soon as AI will be the most intelligent lawyer in the firm and the one that works continuously.

Every law firm will have AI so the only thing that will push lawyers forward is their ability to communicate with clients and deliver a personal service.

Building relationships, networks and connections will be far more valuable to companies than a lawyers ability to do the grunt work and stay late.

Knowing how to communicate, build networks and bring in new clients is something you should start working on now.

1 Thing Lawyers Need To Improve Their Communication Skills

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Clients don’t buy your qualifications, they buy you!

When you speak English as a foreign language it can be a challenge to communicate your message and connect with people. The good news is legal English communication is a skill and it can be learnt. Knowing how to engage in small talk, connect with clients and talk about your skills can all be learnt. So if you want to protect your future now is the time to invest in yourself and improve your communication skills.

If you’re interested in improving your legal English communication skills book a chat with Caryn

Author: Caryn Leach-Smith

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