It’s a form of swift reasoning, cool logic, effortless problem-solving skills and precision analysis that many non-lawyers wished they possessed in heated exchanges between partners, friends or colleagues. It’s the kind of calculated mental weaponry that shields you from unhelpful, inflammatory emotions while actively disarming your opponent with one slash of your sharp verbal blade.

Sounds enviable, right?

Here’s the good part: the ability to use legal reasoning in everyday life is not a skill confined to the legal profession. Like learning a new language, thinking like a lawyer is a technique that can be developed with time, patience, practice, and a willingness to sometimes sound pretentious.

Time to get brain training.

Step 1: Become a word merchant

Lawyers are inherently competitive. They enjoy peppering everyday conversations with big words and thinly veiled insults.

It’s a strategy used to spice things up with colleagues during casual office banter and to gain an unfair advantage in everyday communications with family members or friends.

How to think like a lawyer

If you want to persuade people with your silver-tongued trial lawyer rhetoric, then you need to brush up on your grammar and vocabulary.

Invest some time thumbing through the thesaurus or dictionary and craft a ready-to-go bank of insults you can draw on in a pinch.

Step 2: Forecast the future and scenario plan

Thinking like a lawyer means preparation, planning and predicting (insofar as possible) the future. This means doing risk assessments before making a big decision, considering all your options, and planning for all possible potentialities.

Like a game of chess, it’s a form of deliberate and methodical thinking that factors in the motivations, agendas and likely next move of your opponent. This habit of thinking before acting is part of the reason why lawyers are often considered to be wholly risk-averse.

The upshot of developing this style of thinking, however, is that you will rarely be surprised by unforeseen negative outcomes of your decisions in personal or professional contexts.

How to think like a lawyer

Before taking a course of action, spend some quiet time considering what could potentially go right and what could possibly wrong as well as what the negative or positive consequences might be.

Try to minimise the number of impulse decisions you make and always have a solid backup plan.

Step 3: Develop analytical and problem-solving skills

Analytical skills are central to the way lawyers solve problems and evaluate issues.

Analytical thinking allows you to visualise, articulate, conceptualise and solve simple and complex problems by making educated decisions and taking calculated risks given available information.

Think like a lawyer

Lawyers are able to pick out salient points from any given problem.

Try not to get bogged down in irrelevant details but focus on the most relevant and critical information. Lawyers analyse the issue and look for the material facts, and evidence that supports those facts. They then look for what conclusions they can draw from known facts, justified with sound reasons.

Step 4: Remain objective

Lawyers are masters at removing emotion from everyday interactions.

Submitting to your feelings leaves you vulnerable, clouds judgement and prevents you from making the best decision in the circumstances.

The ability to tease the emotion out of every situation, including inflamed personal conflicts, is one of the many reasons why lawyers are often described as robotic a-holes.

Think like a lawyer

In any escalating confrontation, stop and take a beat.

Taking your time to respond is a strategy lawyers use to drive their opponents crazy! Use this time to remove yourself emotionally from the immediate drama of the situation. Lawyers don’t allow themselves to be drawn in by cheap insults and other schoolyard tactics, although many will engage in it themselves.

Stay calm and put yourself in your opponent’s shoes. What is the meaning behind their words and actions? This requires a degree of emotional intelligence that, if used correctly, can diffuse any situation.

At the end of the day

Lawyers are just people who have been trained in problem-solving techniques and effective communication.

The ability to think like a lawyer simply means developing your lawyer lips, engaging in verbal sparring in appropriate circumstances, moderating emotion and other subjective influences from everyday scenarios, and always applying critical reasoning, logic and sound judgement.

What lawyerly strategies do you use day-to-day? Let us know in the comments!

More on BucketOrange Magazine

Laws Of Conversation: How To Argue Like A Lawyer

Laws Of Conversation: How To Argue Like A Lawyer (Vol. 2)

It’s not just because lawyers can always identify the appropriate moment to combine
mind-bending reasoning and logic with rapid-fire silver-tongued rhetoric in a way that consistently obliterates the opposition in an argument (although that’s a big part of it).

It’s because lawyers also know that with great power comes great responsibility. Sometimes in an argument – like Aesop’s Fable, The Wind & The Sun – choosing a moderate and persuasive approach can often get you further than force.

The key to a lawyer’s coveted communication arsenal, then, is an acute awareness of personal and professional scenarios with the potential to quickly escalate out of control, and the unique ability to make a snap assessment about the best course of action.

While lawyers intuitively know when to cool their jets by offering considered and conciliatory responses in a negotiation, they also recognise that sometimes not giving any ground and adding an accelerant to an already inflamed situation is unavoidable.

It’s a little-known fact that the ability to argue like a lawyer has little to do with formal legal training and a lot to do with a few key courtroom hacks you can apply to your personal and professional life today.

Arguing a point vs effective communication

Arguing is about point scoring.

At its most cutthroat, arguments can be an ugly excuse to take out the day’s frustrations, air past grievances, jealousies, hurts or regrets by verbally attacking your opponent and, in some instances, leaving them reeling for hours, or even days, after the interaction.

If you want your opponent to accept your point of view, you need to start thinking about your interactions as less of an ‘argument’ and more of an ‘art’ form.

1. The art of persuasion

Lawyers are experts at analysing a lot of information, distilling evidence and getting straight to the heart of an issue.

In a professional setting, there is much to be gained by arguing a point effectively such as credibility, respect, and maybe even a promotion. Personal settings are generally more about compromise.

Most of us don’t respond well to insults or being told that we are wrong. So if your ultimate goal is to convince your opponent that your point of view is correct, aim to be persuasive rather than incendiary.

Lawyer it

Avoid the temptation to jump head first into a no-holds-barred shouting match to let off some steam.

Convincing someone to adopt your point of view is an exercise in patience, persuasion and suggestion. To win someone to your point of view, they must almost believe that they came up with the idea themselves.

Lawyers avoid descending into shouting matches because it’s an opportunity for your opponent to glean potentially sensitive information from you which could be used to your detriment at a later stage.

2. Know your subject matter

A common trap many of us fall into, especially when arguing about something we are passionate about, is to defend our position using every shred of evidence, even irrelevant material and subjective opinions.

These sorts of debates invariably descend into irrational and fruitless arguments that draw on an array of unrelated issues and that leave both people feeling frustrated and in no better position than when they originally started.

Lawyer it

If you want to consistently win arguments like a lawyer, make sure that you prepare.

Law is lyfe.

Wherever possible, good lawyers avoid asking a question in court unless they already know the answer to it. This eliminates the possibility of being surprised by a response that could compromise your case. 

The same logic applies to everyday scenarios.

If you understand your opponent through meticulous preparation, it is possible to anticipate their arguments and apply tactical pressure to win.

This is one of the reasons that lawyers are highly skilled at presenting an effective argument. They consider issues from multiple angles and forecast their opponent’s next move. 

3. Choose your words carefully

Word choice in arguments is more important than most of us realise.

If you want to win a point, wherever possible, avoid unnecessary ‘fluff’ words that carry no real weight or meaning.

Hesitation = annihilation.

This is a red flag to your opponent that you are wavering, unsure of yourself, and that your thoughts are unstructured – something that they can easily use to their advantage.

Lawyer it

Words are like currency for lawyers, so spend yours wisely.

Keep your argument clear and simple, and make your point quickly.

4. Steer clear of your feelings

Emotion is subjective and clouds your judgement which is why lawyers leave it at the door when entering the courtroom. 

They say that about lawyers too :'(

A strong emotional response makes it difficult to present a convincing argument and is also the quickest way to lose an argument. Becoming angry or displaying other visible signs of distress such as flushing, tearing up, waving hands in the air or becoming aggressive are red hot cues to your opponent that you have lost your way and that your arguments have become irrational and implausible. 

Becoming emotional advertises your weaknesses to your opponent, effectively handing them the ammunition needed to focus their strategy and distract you from your core objective. 

Lawyer it

If you have an issue that needs resolving, never start the conversation when you’re tired, cold or hungry. It’s a surefire way to start a conflict, to say something that you regret, or to irreparably destroy a relationship.

Lawyers stay in control by sticking to the facts.

This ability to remain calm, focused, objective and in control of an escalating situation is a unique type of emotional intelligence that comes from years of legal training. It’s also one of the reasons why lawyers are able to navigate high-conflict personal or professional situations with relative ease. 

Try to remove yourself mentally from a situation and stick with the facts, not how you feel about the facts.

Understanding yourself, your unconscious biases and knowing which issues are likely to trigger an emotional response in you is critical. This way you can develop strategies to harness those emotions in a positive way.

At the end of the day

It is the mark of an intelligent mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle

Some of the best arguments are not actually arguments at all but heated debates in which both people openly share opposing views, and walk away intellectually stimulated having learnt something new.

Lawyers are highly successful communicators because they know when to toe the line by respectfully listening to their opponents and when to bring down the hammer. Wherever possible, avoid emotion, stick to the point and foster a constructive discussion rather than a critical argument. This way, both you and your opponent walk away winners.

What strategies do you use when an inevitable disagreement surfaces in your personal or professional life? Let us know in the comments!

More on BucketOrange Magazine

• Laws Of Conversation: How To Argue Like A Lawyer Vol. 1
• How To Think Like A Lawyer (Even When You Don’t Have A Law Degree)
• WATCH: Our Editor-in-Chief, Sarah Lynch, discuss “Arguing Like A Lawyer” on Today Extra

I have lost count of the number of lawyer jokes I have heard, as well as the number of times that I have been labelled a “failed lawyer” or a “reformed lawyer”.

What does a lawyer get when you give him Viagra?

Taller.

But in spite of the inevitable jibes and jokes, many of us choose to pursue legal careers because of a desire to do good and to help solve the life problems of others (and where do our friends and family turn when they need legal help? Yup, you guessed it).

So let’s be upfront about this – being a lawyer is not the only thing you can do with a law degree. The skills you learn through studying law are not only relevant inside a courtroom or a law firm but are also transferrable in everyday life.

1. You know how to read contracts

Anyone who has entered a contract for a new personal loan or a rental property knows how exceedingly long, complex and dull they are. As a law graduate, you know that most contracts contain a certain number of standard clauses which are generally the same irrespective of the contract. This insider knowledge means that you can skim read to find the most important stuff that affects you. For a personal loan, this might be the repayment terms or the interest rates.

Having an exceedingly thick skin (which develops from many years of punishing legal training and on-the-job experience) means that you are also undeterred from reading a contract in full before signing – even as the bank manager lets out a great sigh of frustration.

2. You know how to shop for goods and services

As a graduate with a law degree, your intimate knowledge of Australian Consumer Law means that you are one of those annoying people who realise that the door-to-door salesperson is really only good for a cup of tea (unsolicited consumer agreements anyone?). You also understand that the additional warranty that the television retailer is trying to add to your purchase price is less than the amount required by guarantees applying to goods.

While cute, you also realise that those “You break it, you buy it” signs are completely unlawful and would never stand up in front of the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.

3. You know how to research, especially if you need to go to Court

The prospect of going to a Court or Tribunal to settle an issue does not intimidate you.

You can research your way out of any situation (or at least a rental dispute or a divorce) and you’re not afraid to file or write the correct forms and documents yourself.

4. You know how to argue

You can argue like a lawyer by forming a reasoned and cogent opinion  – usually on the spur of the moment. When the need arises you are also capable of using your sharp intellect and mean word merchant skills to insult someone’s intelligence, (usually) without the need to resort to name-calling.

Lawyering also gives you the uncanny power to see both sides of an argument. With your innate ability to forecast the future and predict your opponent’s next likely conversational move – whether in a friendly verbal jousting session over Friday night drinks or a formal political debate – you are always one step ahead.

5. You know how to negotiate

You can advocate for issues that you are passionate about.

If you have done enough extracurricular mooting or negotiation competitions in law school, you know how to construct a Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). In any negotiation, you understand when your opponent has the upper hand (and the best strategy is to settle) and when you have your adversary on the run (and it’s time to bring down the hammer).

6. You are highly organised and manage your time to within a fraction of a millisecond

The stress of law school turns many of us into master procrastinators. While generally viewed as a negative habit, your procrastination has actually trained you to perform well in any difficult situation. You not only know how to manage your time effectively (remember squeezing an entire Semester of revision into the 6 hours before your 100% Commonwealth Constitutional law exam?) but also how to perform well under crushing pressure and little sleep.

These planning, organisational and time-management skills serve you well in life – whether it’s presenting a work project at the last minute, or managing a team of staff on less than four hours of sleep.

Law graduates have done it all that before – and the inevitable strain of life doesn’t phase you but rather plays to your strengths.

7. You are a human lie detector

Law graduates are a pretty suspicious bunch.

Trawling through hundreds of cases involving vitriolic divorces or heated estate disputes will do that to you. Cross-examining your opponent in court for inconsistencies in their case also trains you to constantly subconsciously assess whether the person you are speaking to has a hidden agenda or is not being completely up front with you.

The good news is that you can use your newfound cynicism and flair for identifying fabrications in virtually any situation in life – from knowing when someone is actively lying to you or simply omitting facts to managing your friendships, relationships and even your work life better.

8. You know how to extract information

You have a sixth sense for knowing when someone is hiding something from you.

You also know the best way to extract the information you want while delicately skirting around an issue to avoid raising any alarm bells.

9. You know when opening your mouth is going to make it worse

Generally, as a law graduate, you know it’s not a great idea to abuse police if you are pulled over for a breathalyser or stopped for a random drug check at a music festival.

You know that sometimes silence is the best answer and that often appealing the fine at a later date is the best option.

At the end of the day

A law degree trains you to think analytically and solve problems logically. It’s a unique mix of skills that can take you anywhere in life and your career.

So the next time one of your friends throws a sharp lawyer joke your way, don’t forget to remind them how rad and diverse your legal talents are – because the chances are that they will need to call on your amazing advice one day.

What life skills do you think your law degree has taught you? Think we’ve missed anything? Let us know in the comments!

More on BucketOrange Magazine

• 10 More Reasons Why A Law Degree Is A Life Skill, Not Just A Career

I am going to lay it all on the table bluntly – there is nothing that truly prepares you for the stress of law school.

That reality is all too real right now as I sit writing in my onesie, holding my 3^rd cup of tea, and going over my exam revision notes. But like anything in life, it all depends on how you look at the situation. If you are a ‘glass half full’ kind of person, there are numerous positive learning outcomes that can be drawn from being regularly subjected to the often cruel and inhumane punishment of law exams. It’s a test not only of your knowledge, but also of your willpower and resolve.

For law students, it teaches us how to be disciplined, how to problem solve and manage our time effectively, how to cope mentally and physically during prolonged periods of extreme stress as well as how to perform well under pressure. These are life skills that lawyers use throughout their careers. As a final year law student I feel (or perhaps I hope!) that I have adopted some excellent strategies that enable me to cope in times of high stress.

So how can you benefit from law student life hacks, without going through the horror of law school yourself? Keep reading.

Be Collaborative, Not Competitive

It’s just as relevant in life as it is in law school.

Law students must grapple with a competitive drive deeply ingrained from day one. We are led to believe that competitiveness is necessary to get better marks and secure a top job after graduating. However, this is not necessarily true.

More often than not, a fuller understanding of complex legal principles can come from teamwork and collaboration. This is something that takes many law students a long time to fully appreciate.

Working together in study groups not only helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses but also helps you work through twice as much revision as you would if you were working alone. Collaborating with other students is also the fastest way to form strong and lasting friendships based on mutual trust and respect. Incidentally, it also means that you always have someone willing to go to Doughnut Time with you.

Collaboration over competition is a mindset that is easily transferable to any work environment. Teamwork, the capacity to network and develop good working relationships with a range of stakeholders as well as knowing when to ask for the input, advice and support from a more experienced colleague, show that you have high emotional intelligence.

These are some of the most attractive qualities employers look for in a job candidate – and they have nothing to do with your university grades.

Think like a lawyer: It takes a team to build a dream.

Prepare & Practice

If there is one thing law students know how to do, it is prepare.

This could be for a 100% exam, a mooting competition or big tutorial presentation. For most law students, planning ahead, working out a study schedule and breaking the semester’s content into digestible chunks are basic study survival skills.

One of the most difficult skills developed during law school, however, is the ability to apply relevant law to complex factual scenarios. Not unlike preparing for a job interview, this skill requires training, practice and perseverance.

Using the same planning, discipline and practical techniques used by law students can really help you to prepare for interviews and even everyday work meetings.

To succeed at interview, you need to show your employer that you understand what they want in a new recruit and that you are competent at carrying out those duties. This can only be demonstrated through practice and preparation. Know the company website inside out, research panel members who will be interviewing you and set up a mock interview session with someone you trust. Ask them to fire practice questions at you in an adversarial style, just as a law student would prepare for a mock trial.

You can also use the same technique to prepare for meetings. Know the content that you will deliver and prepare with palm cards. You may wish to put together a slideshow and try to anticipate follow up questions from colleagues.

Adopting these skills demonstrates initiative, leadership and conscientiousness which will pave the way for future success.

Think like a lawyer: Never be caught unprepared.

Be Organised & Remember You Are Human

Law students love to develop effective and unique systems to aid study.

When preparing for exams, law students need to wade through hundreds and hundreds of pages of materials. They must not only read, absorb and remember these principles, but also understand how to apply them in real life scenarios. When faced with a seemingly insurmountable stack of papers, the only way to avoid being buried like a hoarder is to suck it up, organise every subject into a dedicated chunk of study time and get into it – no procrastinating!

Law students know better than anyone that to be an effective studier and pass your exams, you have to be highly organised and prepared. This order provides a sense of clarity and control in a time of chaos and intense stress during exam period.

What law students understand is that study must work around life. Not the other way around.  Spending time with friends and family, having the occasional wine (or three) and exercising are critical to happiness and success.

Think like a lawyer: You cannot do your best work in chaos. Get organised, get your work done efficiently, and factor in time for yourself.

Think we’ve missed anything? Let us know in the comments section below!

Lawyers tend to get a bad wrap.

From perceived profiteering from the misfortune of others to exorbitant fees and long delays in litigation, many young Australians would prefer a meaningful exchange with a sledgehammer and their face over a conversation with a legal professional.

But while lawyers have long-endured all manner of jokes and deeply-entrenched cultural stereotypes, there are many practical benefits to legal training. When it comes to going toe-to-toe in an argument with the lawyer in your social group, for example, you can bet that few are willing to take on the challenge. Why?

Because lawyers not only understand how to argue a point; they also know how to win the point.

The good news is that presenting an effective argument is a learned skill that has little to do with formal legal training, and a lot to do with a few practical strategies. So what is the secret to winning an argument?

Act like a lady; argue like a lawyer.

1. Identify The Issue And Don’t Deviate From It

Recognise the main point of discussion and stick with it.

When someone challenges our views, our natural reaction is to defend ourselves with all available evidence. Particularly if the issue is a deeply contentious one (such as immigration detention centres, people smuggling, human rights, climate change, environmental issues, the Federal Budget or marriage equality) your brain will perceive many different, but unrelated, ways to further your point.

This grassroots response is natural. But it will not help you win your argument.

The main risk here is that your debate will quickly and irretrievably deviate from the subject at hand to one that does not progress the current issue at all. This is where it is easy to become lost in a sea of unrelated issues.

How To Get Your Lawyer On:

Lawyers stick with the topic.

Subjective opinions are not objective facts. No matter what strategies the opposing side uses to distract you from the main issue, or how tempting it is to draw in other connections, a good lawyer always brings the argument back to the original point.

2. Leave Emotion At The Door!

Emotion will never win an argument.

When we feel strongly about a subject, it is likely that our views are informed by past personal experiences. A strong emotional response to someone challenging these views leaves us not only vulnerable to feelings of personal attack, but also not thinking clearly. This can lead to anger, resentfulness, jealousy, defensiveness or distress.

We may naturally cast the conversational net wider in search of ‘evidence’ to support our position. However, introducing new subjective issues can easily lead to a no-holds-barred shouting match.

Becoming emotional is like giving your opponent a bill board-sized signal advertising your weak spot.

Emotion makes it difficult for us to present a convincing argument. Negative displays of body language such as yelling, crying, sighing, eye rolling or name-calling is a waste of the mental energy required to win your argument. It fortifies your opponent’s psychological and emotional defences meaning that from this point, no matter how persuasive you are, you have already lost the battle.

Emotion deafens us to conflicting points of view meaning your opponent can no longer hear what you are saying. 

How To Get Your Lawyer On:

Lawyers stay calm and stick with the facts.

When it comes to arguments or negotiations, emotion is weakness.

Even if lawyers are provoked, or are emotionally connected with a particular subject, they do not allow their opponent to use it to their advantage.

It gives them the ammunition they need to focus their own strategy, distract you from your core objective and, ultimately, win the argument.

3. Be Wary Of Shifting Dialogues

A strategy often used by those with limited argumentative skills is to shift the overall dialogue.

This is achieved by drawing in related, but irrelevant topics. The debate slowly moves away from the central issue to similar sub-issues meaning that the original topic is never dealt with.

You will have noticed politicians using this strategy to avoid direct responses to journalists.

The result is a circular debate that fails to progress the original topic or come to any solid conclusions. Introducing a secondary conversational theme is often an attempt to shift the conversational landscape to something your opponent is more comfortable discussing. When this happens, rest assured that you have the upper hand.

How To Get Your Lawyer On: 

Lawyers are not drawn in by a conversational bait and switch.

They hold their ground and remind their opponent of the real issue.

At The End Of The Day

A lawyer’s ability to win an argument can be summed up by a few key skills: organising ideas and delivering them effectively.

Keep your discussions on the right path by understanding exactly what you are debating and, no matter what strategies your opponent uses to distract, intimidate, confuse or shift the conversational ground beneath you, always bring the argument back to the original point.

Use these tactics and you will never lose another argument.

At least not the one you originally started.

More on BucketOrange Magazine

• Laws Of Conversation: How To Argue Like A Lawyer (Vol. 2)
• How To Think Like A Lawyer (Even When You Don’t Have A Law Degree)