Do you think you are smart enough to be a good lawyer? This question often haunts the students who want to become lawyers in the future. It is a fact that the legal industry is full of highly diligent people. However, it is the opinion of Justice Antonin Scalia that there are too many smart people in the legal profession.

What Justice Antonin Scalia has to say about this?

Justice Antonin Scalia is also of the opinion that a lot of intelligent minds might be wasted as they can rather make contributions to society in other ways, but choosing to be lawyers. This “criticism” is interesting to some of the legal experts since it says more about the place of law within the society than about “super smart” lawyers who could be engineers, scientists, or even artists.

Law as a profession carries a charm in itself that attracts intelligent people of the industry. Perhaps, there are certain ambiguities, or you can say some illusions regarding the “progress” of smart people who prefer to sit behind a desk, carrying a bag of roasted peanuts, instead of having a job that requires physical labor.

We believe having a smart mind with a mind-blowing IQ is the ultimate requirement of the legal profession because no client would prefer a dumb lawyer to handle their complicated cases. But yes, there are both smart and dumb lawyers in the legal industry. This depends on the clients as to who they appoint for filing their case. Every person might have an idea that there is a wide spectrum of intelligence in the legal profession. However, there exists a baseline level of intelligence that is necessary for certain professions. Let’s explore further on this query.

Do you think that lawyers are that smart?

The answer to this question is yes. Lawyers are that smart as multiple studies have proven the average IQ of lawyers by scores. But that doesn’t mean that all lawyers are smarter than a common person. You can say that their due diligence, along with above-average IQ with all the hard work and ambition makes them a really smart lawyer.

A study carried out by the Centre for Market and Public Organization (CMPO) suggested that lawyers have moved much closer to average intelligence in the past 12 years. Surprisingly, a lot of readers found it hard to swallow but the fact remains in place. There is certain criticism to this question where people say that lawyers currently practicing are dumb. So this question has often clicked whether the lawyers have dumbed down during the past decade? What about their intellectual state of the profession?

Is there any barrier to becoming a good lawyer?

Besides the criticism continued to poke fingers at young lawyers, the study conducted by CMPO was for a specific purpose. Researchers wanted to have a look at the barrier which might prevent them from becoming good lawyers. The most common barrier identified was the poorer background from making themselves into a certain career.

Another important barrier identified is the fact that lawyers face one of the bleakest job markets in the decades. The jobs offered in the legal profession are quite limited with low salaries. Some of the lawyers are forced to practice without taking any stipend. Ironic right?

What is the average IQ of Lawyers?

It is a common perception that the average IQ of lawyers is relatively high as compared to other professionals in different fields. This is a fact! Because lawyers need to recall and study greater volumes of information having abstract thinking and analytical skills to present a case. They tend to have a higher IQ which is an ultimate requirement of their job professionally.

A research study has revealed that most lawyers have high scores on IQ tests as compared to the EQ test. The fact is that it is a lot easier to say that lawyers have a certain level of IQ, but the reality is much more complicated. However, it is necessary to remember that every lawyer who passes the bar exam tends to have extraordinary levels of IQ, but if you are using it as a criterion to judge a lawyer’s ability is not fair.

Characteristics of a good lawyer

Good communication skills

It is the ultimate requirement of the law profession to have good communication and writing skills. You should be a good listener too! Having a good set of communication skills will enable you to present your case in a more articulated manner. You can adequately present your arguments to the judge as well. Participating in public speaking activities is the key guide to improve your communication skills because this skill will help you to become a good lawyer.

Judgment

As a legal advisor or a lawyer, you ought to have the option to reach a consistent and sensible conclusion from a case. You should likewise think about the critical parts of judgment to expect possible spaces of shortcoming in your arguments to be presented.

You should also focus on identifying any shortcomings in your arguments that could weaken your case. Consider working on the weak points so that you have strong judgment skills.

Analytical skills

This is the most important characteristic of a good lawyer to have good analytical skills. At times, there might be multiple precedents and conclusions applicable to the case. Being a lawyer, you should know how the case can be resolved based on your analytical skills and identify the best possible solution to the case.

As stated earlier, the average IQ of lawyers should be not treated as a judging criterion to measure the intellectual and skill set of an individual.