Continuing in our series about the intangible qualities that employers are looking for, this week we’re focusing on punctuality and time management. While punctuality and time management may sound like basic qualities, they are actually skills that can be improved.
Punctuality
When he walked into the courtroom at 9:30 am, I’m sure that he didn’t think that he was late. I’m sure he didn’t think that his trial, the one that was set for trial call at 9 am, would already be over. He didn’t think that courts could move that quickly, or that a default judgment could enter against him. He didn’t think that traffic would cause his client to file a bar complaint, or to sue him for malpractice.
What he thought was that the court would still be assigning trial courtrooms, 30 minutes after trial call started. And it was a reasonable assumption because trial call can and often does take an hour – but under the law, he was not there when the matter was heard, so the judgment was entered against his client.
Punctuality is critical. You may have the best argument ever, but if you’re late, you may not get a chance to present it. Your summer employer will notice when you are late, whether it’s for a staff lunch, a client meeting, or a court hearing. So how can you improve your punctuality?
- Being on time really means being early: be 5 minutes early for all internal meetings or events, and be 15 minutes early for external meetings or events
- If you have trouble remembering appointments, try using an alarm (chances are good that your cell phone has one)
Time Management
As Kimberly Egan explained in Essential Skills for Lawyers that Aren’t Taught in Law School, “Everything takes longer than expected. For research and writing projects, a good guide is the ‘double it to the next power’ rule. For example, if someone says a project will take two hours, it actually will take four days. Plan accordingly.”
The best lawyers give themselves extra time in case something goes wrong. The best lawyers plan for bad Seattle traffic, for computer malfunctions, for copiers to breakdown. But, the best lawyers also get work done early – they never wait for the last minute. When you have multiple assignments from clients and when more than one deadline occurs on the same day, saving everything to the last minute only ensures stress and inferior work product.
Tips to improve your time management skills:
- Make a plan for each assignment and plan for some flex time in case something goes wrong
- While you’re planning, schedule time for revisions
- Put your plan into your calendar; do not double-book multiple assignments
- Remember to spend at least 15 minutes every morning planning or reviewing your work for the day/week
