Do you need good speaking skills to be a lawyer?

Question

I have always wanted to be a lawyer, but i am terrible at speaking in front of people. Even socially, i am bad a talking. I mumble and no one can understand me. I have great grades and work very hard, this is the only thing in my way. I am currently in college what should i do?thanks

Answer 1

I am a lawyer and yes, good communications skills are needed but, good communication doesn't always mean speaking in front of a crowd. Depending on what type of law you practice you may never have to go to court. There are a lot of lawyers who rarely go to court. Transactional lawyers for instance do mostly transaction and do not usually litigate. I did a lot of real estate and estate planning and never went to court for that. There are a lot of law jobs that do not require a lot of public speaking.

Answer 2

Being a lawyer is all about talking so if you can't talk, there's no room for you. But don't let that sh** stop you. Practice talking clear. You don't have to be social to be a lawyer but if you got great thinking skills, you still have potential to become a lawyer. I've seen lawyers that can barely speak English and still make well over 100K a year. Don't let that stop you.

Answer 3

It depends on what kind of lawyer you are. For example, if you plan to litigate cases (i.e., go to court), then good speaking skills would be very, very helpful. However, you could practice other areas of law that don't require you to have good speaking skills.

In any case, you can always improve your speaking skills by taking classes, or seeing a speech therapist, and/or going to Toastmasters, etc.

Answer 4

Absolutly, you have to have great oratory skills. Good new is you can get them with training and practice.

Answer 5

u could be a patent lawyer