If you are an aspirant in the law career, there are many opportunities you can specialize in. Wannabes, interested in handling family matters, can major in family law. The field of family law involves a wide range of cases, most of which carry high stakes and strong emotions. Family attorneys— such as Jensen Family Law in Mesa, AZ—are responsible for helping individuals navigate poignant periods in their lives using their legal expertise and empathy.
Who Is A Family Attorney?
As the name suggests, family attorneys are legal professionals that handle family-related cases. These cases revolve around divorce, adoption, child welfare, annulment, and custody. As a family lawyer, you must represent clients and ease their way through legal situations. You tackle cases concerning family memes, guardians for a child, or spouses.
Does Your Personality Fit For An Ideal Family Attorney?
It would be best if you had a proper temperament for family law to deal with young ones and adults in distressing situations. You must cultivate exceptional communication skills to connect with and relate with various families on a human level. Therefore, you should possess the following skills as an ideal candidate in family law:
Communication
Good communication skills are essential in your day-to-day interactions. You must convey and negotiate your ideas clearly in court, requiring verbal and written skills. In addition, you must connect well with clients to build a solid case. Your communication skills play a significant role in each of these approaches.
Analytical Thinking
You’ll work on various pieces of evidence and information in your attempt to design a proper conclusion to your client’s case. Proper solutions call for family attorneys that are analytical thinkers. Because of their emotional design and complex nature, you need your analytical skills to define what’s best for the involved parties.
Negotiation
All court cases involve massive negotiations. This also applies in divorce and custody cases. Everyone in the courtroom (including your client) looks forward to fair treatment, and good negotiation skills are yous best asset for achieving this.
Empathy
Family issues carry with them strong emotions, whether positive or negative. A couple may undergo joyful adoption or dramatic divorce. Instead of focusing entirely on logical and legal procedures, attorneys can practice empathy. They can also focus on understanding their client’s pain in certain situations.
Organization
Family law involves massive paperwork and crucial documents. By practicing organizational skills, you can keep things in order. Staying organized helps to keep critical files safe and at accessible locations. In addition, confidential information can only be accessed by authorized parties.
Research
Although your clients will provide you with helpful information to act on, you will need to use your research skills to get a clear picture of the whole situation. Good research can help you while conducting interviews with involved parties. For example, you can obtain critical testimonies and valuable evidence by employing the right questions.
Stress Management
Sometimes empathy alone can’t cut it through overbearing situations. A family attorney may need stress management skills to serve their clients. As a family lawyer, you have to balance home life with work life to avoid burnout. Situations in courtrooms can also escalate. Therefore, the ability to maintain composure is important.
Qualifications For A Family Attorney
To practice law in all capacities, you must meet set academic expectations and specific licensure. The primary state requirements for all family lawyers are a law degree and an undergraduate degree. Here are the vital steps to becoming a family attorney:
Earn A Bachelor’s Degree
Earning a bachelor’s degree is a critical step into law school. While students may enroll in pre-law programs, they’re not included in admissions programs into law schools. Instead, students preparing to attend law school should major in government or criminal justice. Admissions scrutinize coursework in government and public speaking and writing and logic. If you are a family law aspirant, you should pursue courses in psychology and sociology.
Prepare For LSAT
How well you perform in Law School Admission Tests(LSAT) has a profound implication for your law school admissions. LSAT tests help the admissions office analyze students’ logical and analytical thinking capacities. Students can prepare for these tests via practice exams and prep courses. The test has multiple choice questions in analytical reasoning, reading comprehension, and logical reasoning.
Attend Law School
You can qualify for a Juris Doctor by attending law school full-time. First-year courses include but are not limited to criminal and civil law, constitutional, contract, and property law. You will also take courses in the law and legal process. Second and third-year students undertake more advanced-level family law courses covering marriage, adoption, and divorce.
Most students gain first-hand experience through family law clinics. They may indulge in activities like representing clients under licensed and experienced personnel, researching cases, interviewing clients, etc. While this participation may be graded, students may choose an internship at a law firm.
