Your key is commercial awareness

To start on a simple scale, commercial awareness is the act of staying up to date and aware of daily updates within the business and commercial industry. While we would not find an accurate academic definition for such type of awareness as the meaning is implied within, the definition is simple and practical, it’s being aware, and in the know. Commercial awareness is a necessity and extremely vital for the modern business world.

Commercial awareness in the LAW?

Today many lawyers deal with more than just the law. They must understand their client’s business and the environment in which it operates. They must have an understanding of current affairs and how this might affect their clients or even the legal industry in general. In addition, the fact that law firms are themselves commercial enterprises, in business to make money, and you need to understand how they do that and what factors might affect it to be fully commercially aware.
In this article, we are going to discuss, what is commercial awareness in law, and how it affects the business, and also how to develop commercial awareness.

How a lawyer can develop a commercial awareness?

Nowadays, a rising lawyer should know where the market is, and where it’s possibly headed. This would lead to the right-sourcing and creating new efficiencies, always maintaining an alternative business structure allows new entrants to break free from the traditional, partner-dominated models and gives lawyers new horizons and sectors to expand their business.

For lawyers, knowing their market is extremely significant. However, it is still not enough to develop commercial awareness. Lawyers would still need to know the client’s market too; the client’s prioritized interests are essential to understand their concern, in other words, the clients expect you to know their needs and to answer their calls, so what are the key players?

One of the impressive aspects of being aware of the previously mentioned, is the ability of a lawyer to spot problems and identify opportunities for clients and this is driven by your commercial awareness of your client’s market, and it makes you stand out, and get defined as someone who works outside the usual known “box” and does not define you, allowing you to be unique than the rest of the market.

Moreover, a lawyer needs to get rid of the traditional partnership idea and start dealing as a trusted business partner that recognizes the obstacles their clients face, and how to navigate through them.
To arrive at that modern role, lawyers need to be aware of how the economy works and the consequences of the business, changing the point of view from just the law to new technologies and different improved ideas. That is simply because the New Tech is transforming the legal services market and law firms must be updating these technologies to survive in an increasingly fragmented market, in other terms, IT skills are no longer optional, and they became an indispensable part of the service.

It is safe to say that the days of an isolated lawyer should no longer exist. The finest lawyers add value to their firm by connecting with current and potential clients daily, as well as fellow practitioners from all areas of practice and from all around the world.

Lawyers are service providers. Trust and professionalism are always and continuously required. A lawyer’s skills needed to cultivate, maintain and deepen collaborative relationships with clients

Ways to cultivate those skills:

• Practice commercial awareness when reading and watching the news such as The Economist, BBC News, and The Independent.
• Complete commercial awareness quizzes online
• Attend workshops and other general law-focused events.
• You can also register for law-related newsletters and sign up to Google Alerts for a commercial law-related topic.
  In addition to the information above, it is also valuable to have an understanding of key economic and finance concepts. This aspect will always be an extra key to a fine lawyer.

In conclusion, not being commercially aware simply means a lawyer will always be burying their actual skills. Ironically, the type of lawyer who is not commercially aware and up to date will soon be considered the “odd one out” and will fail to rise above. Nowadays, in the 20th century “knowing it all” from merely a studying law perspective for a lawyer is not enough. Putting in mind that it takes years to build strong commercial awareness, the earlier you start, the sooner you shine.