Bellwether finds skills mismatch

Solicitors have a ‘blind spot’ when it comes to recognising the skills required for success, the latest Bellwether report has found.

Nine out of ten solicitors surveyed agreed with the statement that good business and human skills are important to success. This result, however, was very much at odds with the responses received when the researchers delved further, asking solicitors to arrange 22 different skills in order of priority. According to the report, launched this week, the respondents valued legal skills highest, followed by human skills, and viewed business skills as less important.

Four out of five of the skills ranked by respondents as top priorities for success were human skills, including common sense (89%), inspires trust (87%), willingness to listen (84%) and speaks plainly without jargon (81%). The number one priority (91%) was the ability to identify the real problem and decipher what the client really wants.

By comparison, only 48% of respondents saw the ability to generate business as a vital skill, a mere 40% thought service industry skills important and a relatively scant 35% viewed entrepreneurial skills as a priority.

The report, ‘The Good Solicitor’s Skill Set’, is based on data from eight in-depth interviews with solicitors in small firms and small offices of larger firms, as well as online surveys completed by 176 solicitors across England and Wales. Its author, Jon Whittle, market development director at LexisNexis UK, said: ‘There’s a noticeable blind spot with regards to skills among solicitors.

‘They understand, in the abstract, what is needed to be successful, but they are blind to their own failings and are potentially even reluctant to make adjustments in the way they approach legal service provision. With the legal market opening up to non-law firms and the changes in the Solicitors Regulation Authority Handbook in November this year, resolutely closing the skills gap needs to become a priority for solicitors.’