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If you've been working as a lawyer for a year or two, you're probably starting to gain confidence in what you are doing. You're thinking about advancing your career. What would you like to be doing in five or ten years? Whatever your ambition, now is the time to build a foundation for the future.

First, are you enjoying the work you do? Can you see yourself doing it long-term? If not, now would be a good time to consider making a change. Your career is about how you spend your life, and it can influence the sort of person you become. A lot of people fall into a certain area because that's the job that was offered. If you're thinking of changing your field of practice, there will never be a better time to do it. The longer you stay in one field, the harder it is to swap to another one.

If you are on the right career path, you'll be moving from being an assistant to a more autonomous role. You'll need to develop your expertise, but being a competent technician is just the start. Legal practice is a business. There is an increasing emphasis on each lawyer developing a client following. How do you become being the sort of lawyer that clients seek out? How do you develop your profile and reputation?

The leap can appear daunting, but the effort is worthwhile. Lawyers who can attract clients are less vulnerable to redundancy in difficult economic times than those who rely on others to provide their work. You will also be more likely to be promoted and gain salary increases, and if you choose to change jobs you will be in demand. It also means you could employ yourself, whether through necessity or choice.

A person with a career has a different focus from someone who is just doing a job. In a job, you are doing it for the boss, and are focused on what the boss wants. In a career you are doing it for yourself, and achieve personal development through what you do for others. In a career you are focused on what your client requires. To develop your career, consider working on:

* Your client relationships

* Your referral networks

* Your profile.

Developing Your Client Relationships

Having good communication skills is a key to successful client relationships. Be responsive to your clients and answer their calls promptly. Express yourself clearly, both when you speak and when writing. Avoid using jargon and as far as possible, "speak the client's language".

Remember the interviewing skill of active listening? Are you using it to full advantage? Summarising and paraphrasing are powerful tools. Listen "between the lines". What is the client's real agenda? What are his or her expectations? How realistic are they? Does the client really appreciate the risks, what is possible and what is not?

Be confident in your questioning. It's okay not to know everything. It's not okay to pretend that you do. The important thing is to identify the right questions to ask. Wrong questions will never produce right answers.