Whether you have been in your role for years and feel like part of the furniture, or you have just joined a new firm; you want to stand out in the work place environment. But how do you go about it?
In any work place you want to make sure that you are getting the most out of the experiences that are available.
This month: Standing out in the work place
Start by thinking about your role. Look beyond the area of law that you cover. Look at how you impact on others, whether that is internally with colleagues or externally with clients and contacts. If you are not reaching out to people you cannot make an impact on them at all! If you tend to do a lot of internal administrative work then, whilst someone ought to be grateful, if it is not fee earning or promoting your team then it can go unnoticed.
It’s important that your colleagues see the benefit of what you do. If you are busy clearing up after them or paving the way for others in your team then raise that at team meetings. Make sure it is noted and that there is awareness for that work. Better still ask for someone else to do that work for a time so that you can focus on more outward facing, business development or highly regarded activities within the team, freeing you up to do something different.
The two parts of being a solicitor are being good at the law and generating the work. Gaining clients and work is a great way to be noticed and recognised in the work place as it has such a direct impact on the bottom line.
Stand out with accreditations and awards
Thinking about the work that you do, are there specific accreditations or awards that you could apply for? In private client STEP is highly regarded. If you focus on agricultural work then you would want to be looking at membership with the Agricultural Law Association; AvMA for clinical negligence etc the list goes on. If you are operating in a field at a high level, make sure there is external recognition and it will help you stand out both within your firm and within the market.
Awards again are many and varied and by putting yourself or your team forward for something relevant and topical to your area of law it gives you something to shout about. Whether it is a nomination, a short list or winning the award.
