Five ways that additional Legal Training can push your career to the next level
Today’s job marketplace is more competitive than ever, and with countless new lawyers qualifying every year, you need to make sure that you stand out from the crowd. Undertaking additional training can help you to do just that, and enables you to differentiate yourself from your peers. If you still need convincing, here are five more ways that taking on extra legal training can enhance your career.
1. Legal training enables you to specialise
Sometimes, distinguishing yourself is all about showing that you have the specialist skills required to handle work in a specific niche. By taking extra training in a particular area, such as personal injury law, you can open up a whole range of new possibilities. Using the personal injury example, it can enable you to expand into an area that is currently growing and for which there is no shortage of demand for solicitors who are properly trained in the relevant laws and processes.
2. It can count towards your required number of annual CPD points
Training by accredited providers counts towards the minimum number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points you must accrue every year. For solicitors working 32 or more hours a week the minimum is 16 hours of CPD every year, while for those working part-time it is reduced.
3. It can provide a chance to network
Training events are not just about qualifications and learning new skills, they’re also about people. Taking a training course can give you the chance to meet like-minded individuals, who may well play a role in the future development of your career, or even simply become friends and professional confidantes.
4. Add extra accredited qualifications to your CV
One of the most important parts of building and progressing your career is to craft a CV that is attractive to employers. While experience and attitude can count for a lot, sometimes law firms are looking for individuals with a very specific set of skills and knowledge, and the qualifications to prove it. Aside from this, every additional qualification that you can put on your CV shows how committed and passionate you are about your career, and that can count for a lot in itself.
5. Additional training can help you to provide a better service to your clients
At the end of the day, being a solicitor is all about providing clients with legal advice and representation that is of a high quality. Undertaking additional legal training can help you to improve your existing skills, as well as learning new ones that will enable you to better help your clients, and offer them a larger range of services.
No matter what stage you are at in your career, adding new skills and qualifications is always a positive move. Extra legal training can broaden your horizons, or make you better at what you already do. It can also enhance the esteem in which you are held by peers, clients, and prospective employers.
