Legal Career Advice: Things I Wish I Knew

There’s a scene in The Paper Chase where Professor Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. tells his students:

“You teach yourselves the law, but I train your minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush; you leave thinking like a lawyer.”

He was right. Law school rewires how you think—teaching you to spot issues in chaos, solve problems within a framework of rules, and see both sides of a question—all building the intellectual architecture of a legal mind. That’s step one.

But it does not teach you how to build a legal career, generate clients, maintain trust, speak with confidence, or invest in relationships that matter.

That’s step two. And it’s just as important.

At the end of each semester teaching Corporate & Art Law at the University of Miami, I share a list with my students—lessons I had to learn the hard way. These aren’t theories. They’re battle-tested principles I picked up by doing it wrong more than once.

They won’t replace learning to think like a lawyer. But once you do, they’ll help you build something lasting—and many of them apply outside the practice of law as well.

1. Relationships Are Like Plants—Ignore Them and They Wither

I’m a gardener by hobby, and it’s shaped how I think about professional relationships. Like plants, they need tending, attention, and time—but just as importantly, they need the right conditions to grow. Some plants need full sun, others thrive in shade. People are the same. Every relationship responds differently, and part of the work is understanding what kind of care each one needs.

I failed at this. I was a lousy gardener early in my career, and I saw the results. It’s easy to say, I’m too busy right now—but networks and relationships don’t work that way. They don’t sit idle and wait for when it’s convenient. They either grow or they fade.

2. Invest in People Before They Have Power

One of the things I wish I had done more of: build real relationships earlier.

Some of the most meaningful work I’ve done began with people I met when none of us had titles—just shared ambition and respect. Some of those people now lead companies or manage complex legal teams—but back then, we were just trying to figure things out together.

When you’re starting out, it’s easy to think, What could I possibly offer a CEO or decision-maker? And truthfully, not much—yet. But your peers won’t be junior forever. They’ll become the people who hire lawyers, run deals, and bring others along with them. And when they do, they’ll call the people they trust.

3. Excellence Isn’t Enough—What Makes You Human Is What Makes You Irreplaceable

AI has already changed how we practice law. It drafts, summarizes, redlines, and reviews at speed. That’s now the baseline.

But it can’t read the emotion behind a client’s voice, or sense hesitation behind a confident email. It doesn’t anticipate what a founder is really asking—or what they’re afraid to. And it doesn’t know when silence means more than what’s said.

The ability to connect with clients on a human level, understand their unstated needs, and provide empathetic counsel remains uniquely human territory. These client-facing skills—combined with strategic thinking and sound judgment—are what make a lawyer irreplaceable.

4. Get on a Stage Before You Think You’re Ready

If you want to grow, you have to speak. Clearly. Confidently. Without jargon.

I tell every young lawyer to join something—BNI, FLN, a local business group—that forces them to articulate what they do and why it matters in 60 seconds or less. To people who don’t know the lingo and don’t have time for fluff.

This will change how you communicate and teach you to own your value. And when the high-stakes moments come, you won’t just know the answer—you’ll know how to say it with authority.

5. Build Your Network Around What You Love

Some of the most lasting relationships I’ve built weren’t born in conference rooms. They started around shared passions—art, watches, or sailing on the water.

When you spend time doing what excites you, you meet people who share your passions—and those shared passions build trust faster than any pitch ever could.

I still show up to legal industry events. But I’ve found the most meaningful

networking happens when no one’s trying to “network”—they’re just doing something they care about, alongside others who do too.

A Career, Not Just a Practice

Law is still the best job I know—demanding, dynamic, and full of purpose. But the qualities that build a meaningful legal career are learned over time, often the hard way.

If you’re early in your career, I hope these lessons help you avoid some of the missteps I made. And if you’ve been doing this for a while, you probably have a list of your own. I’d love to hear it.

My dream is to stay active in this profession for as long as I can—even if one day, it’s in a more diminished capacity. Because this work still matters. And because, after all these years, I’m still learning.

Categorised in: News

This post was written by Daniel Novela