Even after long years at Law School, the education of a legal professional is never over. In fact, lawyers are on a constant learning curve, seeking knowledge from various sources in order to better their careers and win more cases. At the same time, it is also key to find a good balance between your personal life and career goals and learn to manage this equilibrium effectively.

When building our legal careers, we can become so focused on the career ladder that we forget our personal wants and needs. It doesn’t have to be that way. With some forethought, preparation, and practice, you can build a professional life that honors your personal desires. Following are seven best practices I learned while climbing the career ladder in law.

At the core of all law practice is the basic premise of trading legal expertise in return for a fee. In the words of the UK Law Society, lawyers “represent a 'gold' standard in the provision of legal services, and members of the profession should strive to continuously improve the service they provide to their clients, rather than being content to provide a merely competent service.”

In the context of knowledge management for senior lawyers, junior lawyers, and paralegals, it is essential they update their legal skills throughout their careers to ensure that the advice they provide is legally accurate and reflects best practice.

If you’re anything like me, over the course of your career you’ll have found yourself weighed down by excessive workloads, feeling like your path to self-fulfillment is an uphill climb. For me, maintaining a work-life balance has become as important as any one of my other career goals.