Overrating Intelligence
Intelligence is the intellectual ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills systematically, coherently and logically. Once upon a time, intelligence was the primary quality I judged myself and others by. Even though I lacked it, and perhaps because of that, I prized it above other qualities. In an attempt to cultivate it, I kept an open mind, read difficult books (I still don’t understand them), entertained a diversity of thoughts, listened to intelligent people, …
The Seven Qualities of Indispensability
For me, the one quality that gets anyone hired, liked, nurtured, feted and even championed is indispensability. You can make a persuasive case for your hire if you cultivate this quality. Whatever your profession, employment or job. To be indispensable is to be essential, necessary, and integral to something. Being indispensable is to be part of the nucleus. It is commonly associated with salutary qualities such as reliability, sensibility, competency, credibility, loyalty, motivation and initiative. …
Will I Ever Argue A Case of Some Importance?
I asked myself that question from time to time in the first few years of practice when I ran the gamut of debt and traffic claims and defences in the lower courts for the firm. I asked myself that question during those long, dull and lonely waits. If I weren’t waiting in the subordinate court registry, I’d be waiting in court waiting for my case to be called up. In the good old days, whatever …
The Basic Skillset of a Lawyer
Marketing, business development, making Tik Tok videos, getting featured or profiled here and there, and such matters are things one does purportedly for attracting legal work. These are not skills for producing high-quality legal work. They are an enervating distraction, especially to the development of a young lawyer’s legal abilities. For myself, there are 4 basic skill sets every lawyer must possess: the ability to read, write, speak and think. I know anyone literate can …