Selecting Tomorrow’s Lawyers: Why Durable Skills Matter

December 11, 2025

The world of legal education doesn’t look like it used to. With information only a click away, law students can find answers faster than ever—but the real-world challenges clients bring to their lawyers have only grown more complex and emotionally demanding. That’s why employers are searching for something deeper than textbook expertise: they want new lawyers who can connect, communicate, and keep their cool when it matters most.

These realities make it clear that, while legal knowledge matters, long-term success depends on something deeper. Durable skills like empathy, communication, resilience, ethical awareness, and teamwork shape how future lawyers support clients and navigate the demands of modern practice.

Redefining What Law Schools Do

For decades, law schools prioritized admitting students who could absorb legal doctrine quickly. LSAT scores and GPAs became the dominant filters. But while these metrics reveal who can learn the law, they say little about who will truly thrive in practice.

Legal employers see the same pattern. The Canadian Bar Association notes that firms are increasingly evaluating new talent based on personality. Recent research reinforces this shift, emphasizing communication, adaptability, people skills, and client awareness as core differentiators in modern practice.

When law school admission teams have the tools they need to recognize these durable skills in applicants, they can better predict who will succeed in their studies and go on to become capable, employable lawyers.

Why Durable Skills Matter

Clients rarely seek lawyers when life is calm. They arrive during moments of conflict, fear, or uncertainty. In those moments, they need clarity and trust just as much as accurate legal reasoning. Durable skills sit at the heart of that work.

Communication plays a central role. This is one of the most important competencies for lawyers, because solid communication builds trust with clients and reduces confusion. Another key skill is emotional intelligence, which strengthens negotiation, conflict resolution, and teamwork, all critical components of everyday practice.

Today’s younger applicants also need support as they build these skills. Having missed formative social experiences during the pandemic—and relying heavily on text-based communication—many arrive at law school with less practice reading tone, interpreting body language, or handling tough conversations. Admissions teams, equipped with the right tools, can still spot the students who have real potential to grow.

How Admissions Can Help Surface Overlooked Strengths

Academic metrics matter, but relying too heavily on test-taking ability can cause schools to overlook applicants who bring grit, curiosity, emotional awareness, and strong interpersonal skills. These qualities often predict resilience and long-term success.

Other professions have already addressed this challenge. Medical and health programs now use academic thresholds first, then evaluate judgment, communication, and collaboration through structured interviews and skill-based assessments. This balanced method reveals how applicants think, not just what they know.

Law schools can adopt similar strategies by:

Setting clear academic thresholds, then selecting based on mission-aligned human qualities.
Giving meaningful weight to service-industry work, caregiving, leadership, or long-term responsibilities—traits legal employers consistently value.
Adding structured interviews and written prompts that explore ethical judgment, collaboration, communication style, and stress management.
Using open-response situational judgment tests to evaluate professionalism and social intelligence at scale, giving admissions teams a deeper view of how applicants reason through real-world dilemmas.

Strengthening Professional Formation

Selecting for durable skills sets the foundation, but law schools also have an opportunity to build these skills intentionally throughout the program. Other disciplines use competency milestones, reflective practice, team-based learning, and identity-formation courses to help students grow from entry-level learners into capable professionals. Law schools can adapt the same strategies to strengthen well-being, ethical reasoning, and readiness for practice.

Building a Healthier, More Resilient Profession

Durable skills sit at the core of modern legal work. They shape how students learn, how they collaborate, and how they serve clients. When schools widen their admissions lens and reinforce these abilities throughout the program, they graduate future lawyers who lead with clarity, confidence, and care — strengthening both the profession and the communities they serve.