BOOK REVIEW The Naked Lawyer: RIP to XXX

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Reviewed by: Andrew Woolley
Author: Chrissie Lightfoot
Publisher: EntrepreneurLawyer Ltd
ISBN: 978-1-907943-00-3
Price: £96

This eBook takes risks - risks in its use of language; chatty style and ideas; the heavy use of the authors’ own life examples; the significant talk around soft skills and for that matter in the very fact that it is an eBook. Not that I had a problem with any of this but I fear some will. I hope it does not stop them getting the many facts and challenges contained in ‘The Naked Lawyer’. If it does, then based on this book, they are the type of lawyer who won’t be around for long anyway.

There are 369 pages, so I’ll just pick a selection of things I particularly liked. First is the concept that employed lawyers should effectively, if I understand correctly, market themselves to their employers. Of course they already are, or should be, but this is about a change of their paradigm. Don’t sit back waiting for the next CPD course to form your firm—get out and improve yourself as a person and therefore as a lawyer to what a customer would actually want.

I also strongly agree with her argument that we just do not train ourselves or our lawyers anywhere near enough on the soft skills. Training on law is probably more than sufficient, but training on the skills which most clients will use to differentiate between us is often non-existent. Lightfoot talks a lot about these skills and explains them well if they are a new concept to you.

The book discusses many other issues and if you are interested in being excellent at networking, rainmaking, sales and social media you’ll find great starter info here.

All in all, this is a read that I’d recommend to anybody who wants to be challenged to be the best they can be, and read some very practical tips they can start off with straight away.

Major change is here already and can only be increased in October 2011. This book makes it clear the author’s view is that the option to do nothing and survive just is not available. As the author very frequently, and in my view, correctly reminds us ‘just do something’.

But, as I say, I hope this book is not ignored by those who struggle with the frequent references to things like "after dark activity", "SUUUCK" and SM (the latter turns out, some will be pleased to hear, to be social media).

Andrew Woolley writes for the Gazette’s ‘In business’ blog, and is senior partner of Woolley & Co.

The Naked Lawyer eBook is available from EntrepreneurLawyer Ltd it is also available in paperback from Ark Publishing.