ABSTRACT
What are the essential characteristics of a good lawyer? This question is routinely debated in many law schools accompanied by questions about what we should teach law students in order to best prepare them for legal practice. Most agree that lawyers should be accomplished technicians, that is, experts in the law-or a specific area of law-as well as experts in legal analysis, how the legal system works, and how to accomplish change on behalf of their clients. For the most part, the skills of excellent legal technicians include the ability to analyze a problem and think about it from different perspectives as well as persuasive oral and written advocacy in a variety of forums.
