Know the Business: To provide effective legal advice, a lawyer must be more than simply technically competent. As a lawyer, you must know and understand the client’s business, its business operations and objectives. Lawyers giving advice in construction law should know the intricacies of the industry, the players and the prevailing dynamics. You must also keep current in your legal knowledge, it is equally important to take training in construction and engineering, and understand the issues impacting the industry.

Be Passionate: Being enthusiastic about the subject matter and your clients will ensure that you enjoy your career and that you will work to be to the best that you can be.

Be Solution-Oriented: Clients want solutions. Clients do not want to know why something cannot be done; they want to know how it gets done. When you are engaged, identify the problem, devise a solution, develop a strategy and set the goals. Be prepared to re-evaluate, revise and re-commence, always with the objective of finding a solution that achieves the client’s requirements.