How to improve your commercial awareness

When I begun my undergraduate law degree , one of the first things I remember being drilled into our brains from day one was developing commercial awareness. Essentially, commercial awareness is being conscious of the developments that are occurring in the business world. Having commercial awareness increases the confidence that you have with yourself when speaking to clients but it also builds client confidence in you as well. The aim of the game is to retain clients so that they keep coming back to you for their legal matters and concerns. For many clients, these matters can be stressful and an emotional time, the service you are selling is not just the advice you give, but as a lawyer you are the service, so showing the client they are in good hands is very important. In this article I will set out some of the best ways I have found to build commercial awareness.

READ, READ, READ

It really goes without saying, but reading is going to be extremely important. My advice for people who don't enjoy reading is don't get yourself into the legal field, but I suppose if you are reading this you do somewhat enjoy it (at least I hope).

My favourite websites are Financial Times, the feautures on this website are paid, but there are some free trial options and student plan options. The app and website are set out in a way that is very cohesive, so if you are anything like me and dont enjoy a webpage to look "messy" when reading then I believe the Financial Times is perfect for you. Not to mention the content and how soon it is updated with new stories.

Another one of my favourites is The Lawyer Portal, who will give you commercial awarness rundowns straight to your email. Its just perfect for those that want to have a quick read while grabbing a coffee before work/school or bed.

LISTEN TO A PODCAST

Another great way of boosting your commercial awareness is listening to a podcast. Not everyone likes to read (refer back to the second paragraph of the article), or sometimes you just want the information to be spoken to you. To be honest, podcasts are my favourite way of digesting information and they are perfect for your morning commute. Do bare in mind that some law firms have their own podcast shows on platforms such as Spotify, so if you are interested in a firm I would definitely recommend you having a look if they have their own podcast, it would be a brilliant discussion point in your application process or interview.

I have many favourite podcasts for this, and I generally seem to bounce between them depending on mood and the time I have available. Here are some of my favourites:

• Commercial Awareness with Watson's Daily business and financial news - by Peter Watson, what I like about this one is the weekly roundups. Even if you don't have 20 minutes everyday to listen to their regular podcast, you can tune in for a 30 minute weekly roundup brief to reflect upon that weeks event
• FT news briefing - by the financial times. - This is the podcast version of the financial times, you can really tell its my favourite place to get my news, but they are really amazing at what they do!
• InCities with UNSW Law Society - the point of this podcast is for students to gain insight into the type of work that lawyers do. Each episode is partnered with a law firm talking about a topic area. It's a great way to get insight into law firms too.

Hopefully in this short article I have been able to point you into the right direction of great channels for gaining commercial awarness, gaining you that competitive edge or just improving your knowledge. To be honest, the reason why I do this is because I genuinely enjoy it, having completed business studies at A-level and then start my law degree, its just something that I have done and its become second nature.

If you are studying law, or are due to start your law degree, I wish you the best of luck!